Having watched this video, where John Oliver warns about what a second administration of Trump would actually look like, it should serve as a warning.
Many of his supporters - and even those who apparently are still a bit on the fence - suggest with a straight face that his first administration was not as bad as some forecasts had warned. The thing is, as Oliver points out here, Trump and his allies now have experience, and will know much better what they are doing, and how precisely to do it, as soon as they are in power.
By now, most everyone has heard of Project 2025. It lays out a very definitive plan to turn the country backwards politically. To reflect much more the conservative political values which they espouse and want to impose. They will not let little things like a democratic tradition stretching back two and a half centuries, or laws, stand in their way this time, either.
Remember, these are the people behind January 6th. They have already had four years of Trump's presidency under their belts. And they have been foaming at the mouth for revenge for the past nearly four years, for that matter.
Also, they are increasingly unafraid to expose their own dark sides. In this video, one of the guys on the Trump team openly mulls over the possibility of a homeland for whites. He questions why a homeland for Palestinians is considered acceptable, while talk of a homeland for whites is considered racist. Yet, the reason for this is hardly a mystery. After all, it's right there in what he's saying, and how he's saying it. Palestinians are a people who have lived in the same region for thousands of years now, like Russians and Chinese and French and Germans. Also, they were first colonized by the British, and then saw Jews take over what had been their homeland to establish Israel. There are and long have been people from a very specific region in the world who are known as Palestinians. Thus, the notion of an independent nation of Palestine is not some unthinkable process. Meanwhile, "whites" clearly refers to exclusively a race, and not a nationality. When you refer to a certain group of Americans as "whites," it implies their race and thus, by process of elimination, it excludes people who are not white. And yes, that is based exclusively on skin color. There is literally no other criteria to describe people as being or belonging to a group known as "whites." That is labeling people based on their appearance. More specifically, their race. So yeah, that is pretty much racism in action. In fact, that is pretty much the definition of racial thinking or, as many conservatives like to refer to it when they are accusing liberals or Democrats of doing it, identity politics. Hardly seems like it actually needs to be explained, even, since it is rather obvious and elementary to anyone who actually examines it with any objectivity. Yet, since he specifically asked, I guess it should be pointed out, since it obviously is geared towards people who will not really scrutinize it, but will be too easily convinced by this line of rationale as an actual argument and counterpoint to the idea of Palestinian autonomy.
So let's look at this, without panicking and without fear. Without a sense of impending dread that some have, but also without that premature desire to celebrate Trump's downfall which also seemed too prevalent by some following his becoming officially a convicted felon. As if many of his detractors have not underestimated him before by celebrated his sure downfall well before it was an actual fait accompli. After all, as of right now, he is still very much in this presidential race. The polls seem less certain than ever before, and I have admittedly never seen such highly wavering polls. Depending on whom you ask, a victory for Biden seems like a sure thing, and the conviction has only hurt Trump. In other polls, the conviction has only helped him, and he has expanded his lead.
Frankly, it is becoming extremely difficult to know what to believe.
Yet, I suspect that we can believe this diagnosis by Oliver of what a second Trump presidency would actually look like. And it is not a good diagnosis.
Trump’s Second Term: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
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