My opinion is:

Somewhere beween 2016 Trump and Erdogan-era Turkey. But if democrats dont win midterms and 2028 election (if there even is a 2028 election), then we go beyond Erodogan’s Turkey into Russia territory.

Very bad, but the US has Federalism, we might be able to survive if state governments resist. There would be so much damage to US institutions, but if democrats win future elections, we can still save this.

Its hard to say cuz hes so unstable, but since his party has been hijacked by his sycophants and own the three branches, id guess some crazy shit. Maybe this will finally make the americans understand that voting has consequences, and that some minimal homework is needed to choose. But honestly no one on this planet has any faith in the average american so i predict ww3, mass incarceration with slavery (woops already has been happening, but for even more ppl), demonization of any minority, and a general loss of wealth that will be vacuumed by the upper class. Man I cant believe you guys let trump hire Elon fking Musk, hope you guys like living like one of his employees.

It all depends on whether they’re competent and can act together for their goals. Many of those goals are truly horrible, but

• Trumps first term was incompetent, fractured. Despite all the chaos and destruction, they did nowhere near as much damage to peoples lives and democracy as they wanted to
• My conservative brother is all too typical, dismissing the worst statements as “he’s not serious. He’d never do that”. We have to hope people like my brother are right
• their goal is narcissism and their methods are stoking outrage: is it possible they’re not actually evil, don’t actually pay attention to what comes out of their own mouths? Are they even capable of working together? Making Trump rich and stoking his ego would be a travesty, but far less damaging than what he says he’ll do

The goal is to remake the US into something else. A Christian Patriarchy + Oiligarchy with sham voting every four years. The biggest wild card in their plans is Trump, but as long as he gets to pretend he’s Putin 2.0 – which literally means being able to point his finger to see someone killed – he’ll be happy and easy to play.

Overall, there’s no limit to how fucked we are. There are no brakes and there’s no steering wheel.

Think militias deputized as enforcers.

Think protests put down by the military ordered to shoot to kill.

Think indoctrination of children and political/militaristic organizations for teens.

Think history books rewritten, science education dumbed down, evolution and global warming illegal to even mention.

Think marriage rights taken away.

Think voting rights taken away and voting laws rammed through to ensure Republicans win.

Think Republicans getting enough state legislatures both to call a Constitutional Convention and to ratify a slew of amendments to rework citizenship, enshrine Christianity into the constitution, and generally butcher the Bill of Rights.

Think “real Americans” going after and imprisoning and/or killing hundreds, thousands, millions of other Americans.

Think purity tests and identification papers, total surveillance, digital tracking of every word and action and movement.

Think of your street with a dead body in the middle of it and everyone afraid to go near it.

Think of being terrified for your own life if you accidentally hear someone say something against The Party.

Think of this very comment used as evidence to lock me up or have me killed.

There is nothing, nothing at all, standing in their way. Like in most one-party systems, the competition among the players will be to see how extreme they can get in order to prove themselves to their party, while the rest of us who vainly hope they’ll show restraint will pay the price.

I hope I’m wrong about most of the above. It may not get that bad. But, again, we’ve gone over the cliff and there’s nowhere but a helluva lot of straight down.

This is going to create the political order we will live under for the rest of our lives.

What happened to the Iranian left after 1979’s revolution:

The Iranian left played a significant role in the 1979 revolution but was ultimately suppressed and marginalized by Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamist forces in the aftermath. Here’s an overview of what happened to leftist groups after the revolution:

Initial Collaboration and Support

Many leftist groups initially supported and collaborated with Khomeini’s movement to overthrow the Shah:

• Various Marxist-Leninist, socialist, and communist organizations participated in the revolutionary coalition[5].
• Some leftist groups like the Tudeh Party (pro-Soviet communists) and Fedayeen (urban guerillas) attracted many student members[5].
• The leftist-Islamist group Mujahedin also gained significant support among students[5].
• Many leftists viewed Khomeini’s movement as anti-imperialist and hoped to push it in a more progressive direction[1].

Gradual Suppression

However, Khomeini and his allies soon moved to sideline and suppress leftist forces:

• In March 1979, Khomeini declared “do not use this term, ‘democratic.’ That is the Western style,” signaling his opposition to liberal and leftist ideals[2].
• The National Democratic Front (a leftist group) was banned in August 1979[2].
• Universities were purged of leftist influence starting in March 1980[2].
• By early 1981, the government had closed MEK (People’s Mujahedin) offices, banned their newspapers, and issued arrest warrants for their leaders[2].

Violent Crackdown

The suppression of the left intensified into violent persecution:

• Between 1981-1985, nearly 8,000 political opponents were executed, many of them leftists[3].
• In 1988, a “Death Committee” oversaw the mass execution of leftist prisoners[1].
• Overall, the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on dissent was far more brutal than the Shah’s regime, which had executed fewer than 100 political prisoners between 1971-1979[3].

Reasons for Failure

Several factors contributed to the left’s inability to maintain influence:

• Lack of unity and organization among moderate and radical leftist factions[2].
• Underestimation of the conservatism of the Iranian masses[2].
• The left’s secular ideology conflicted with the religious fervor driving much of the revolution[1].
• Khomeini’s skillful co-opting of leftist anti-imperialist and social justice rhetoric into an Islamist framework[3][4].

Legacy

By the end of 1979, the “secular middle class” and liberals had been largely sidelined, leaving mainly Islamist factions in power[2]. The suppression of the left helped consolidate the Islamic Republic’s hold on power and narrowed the range of acceptable political ideologies in Iran[3]. However, some leftist ideas around social justice and anti-imperialism were incorporated into the Islamic Republic’s ideology, albeit in a religious framework[4].

Citations: [1] Ideology and Iran’s Revolution: How 1979 Changed the World https://institute.global/insights/geopolitics-and-security/ideology-and-irans-revolution-how-1979-changed-world [2] Aftermath of the Iranian revolution - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_the_Iranian_Revolution [3] Four decades later, did the Iranian revolution fulfill its promises? https://www.brookings.edu/articles/four-decades-later-did-the-iranian-revolution-fulfill-its-promises/ [4] What Iran’s 1979 revolution meant for the Muslim Brotherhood https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-irans-1979-revolution-meant-for-the-muslim-brotherhood/ [5] How Iran’s Theocrats Allied With — and Then Crushed — the Left https://jacobin.com/2022/10/chahla-chafiq-iranian-left-khomeini-protests-feminism [6] Iranian Revolution | Summary, Causes, Effects, & Facts - Britannica https://www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution

It’s fucked. But it’s been fucked for a long time. You just didn’t see it until the other day. It’s like the foaming at the mouth from rabies. By the time you get that far, it’s too late. But that animal bite months ago, and itching and fever were the warning signs, and everybody ignored it.

I think a lot of bad things will happen, but the biggest problem will be that all vaccination everywhere ends, so millions of children die, and it’ll be another pandemic crisis.

II think it’s entirely possible the world is fucked. Climate crisis won’t come during his 2nd administration, but the 4 years we lose in national and international regulation is going to make it impossible to prevent.

It’ll be slow, but before 2061, I expect the death of the global Internet, and global shipping, and most air travel. Electrical grids will fracture or fail and the pieces used for smaller (at most regional) grid. Cities won’t be able to maintain the sewer pumps, and Cholera will start killing people again. Gas lines will stop maintaining pressure.

I don’t plan on sticking around that long. My BP has always been bad, so I figure just indulging my vices will make this no my problem, and I don’t have a partner or descendants.

If you prefer not embracing despair, I suggest looking into how you and your dearest can survive without infrastructure. Local food production, local power and medicine production. Don’t count on supplies you can’t retrieve within a day of travel, and don’t count on the state to maintain roads. “Solarpunk” might be a good search term. Also, might prepare for unpredictable shifts in the local climate, like preferring indoor growing.

If anyone has data that says we can avoid climate collapse with no new national or international regulation before 2029, I’d love to hear it. Please.

From the wiki on Project 2025:

Critics have characterized Project 2025 as an authoritarian, Christian nationalist plan to steer the U.S. toward autocracy.[14][16][17][18] Legal experts have said it would undermine the rule of law,[19] separation of powers,[7] separation of church and state,[20] and civil liberties.[7][19][21]

“It proposes criminalizing pornography and imprisoning those who produce it,[34][35] removing legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,[35][36] and terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs[7][36] while having the DOJ prosecute “anti-white racism” instead”

It’s business as usual.

Prices on everything will go up exponentially while income comes down. Worker protections won’t exist and the people in charge of your health, whether food, medical, other goods, will only care about which company gives them a bigger check.

Remember how baby food had to be recalled recently because it was unsafe to feed babies? That ain’t happening anymore! Fuck the babies! And if you can’t afford your $4k/month rent, to prison with you (because homelessness will be illegal and prison labour cheap cheap cheap!)

At least 200%, it’s the end of an era.

Not just the US, the entire planet.

For example: Ukraine Gaza Taiwan South Korea

Ugh, just thinking about the ripple effect that this is going to cause is makes me want to curl up in a corner.

I feel like the U.S. is becoming similar to Russia. For example, we are seeing an autocratic strongman holding the highest office and only vaguely behaving within the democratic system, with a clear intent to rule unilaterally with a congress and Supreme Court that are less checks and more support for maintaining the power base. And as generations continue to experience this way of life, America as a society will forget what it was like for the past 250 years where both parties respected the system with peaceful transfer of power.

It’s sad, but fascinating in a kind of slow motion train crash to be alive for.