There will be no one to blame but American voters for what is going to happen next.
After a decade in politics, we all knew Donald Trump was a criminal.
He was found guilty last May of 34 felony counts of fraud and was slapped with a $355 million fine after he and his company were found guilty of engaging in a decade-long scheme to defraud banks and lenders by falsifying the values of his properties. In writing the verdict in the case, Judge Arthur Engoron wrote “The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.” In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
Everything about Trump shocks the conscience
E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her, in 2006. (Source: Wikipedia)
Aside from his effort to keep his $130,000 hush payment to a porn star secret prior to the 2016 election cycle, Trump made almost no effort to hide his criminality, nor did he hide contempt for others. He never hid his overt racism and misogyny, nor did his running mate. Instead he emphasized it during their campaign by likening women to animals, calling them “evil,” “sick” and “low IQ” and a “bitch” at his rallies. He has displayed willful ignorance and contempt for democracy. He promoted election fraud conspiracies as long as he lost an election, but then abruptly stopped claiming it after he won election, leaving millions of duped followers in his wake to suffer the consequences of believing him, including those who got sentenced to prison because they acted on his claims. He violated the Constitution while in office by fleecing taxpayers. He called to terminate parts of the Constitution over his 2020 election loss. He mocked disabled people and members of the military and expressed disdain for those who serve, calling them “losers and suckers.” The jury who found him liable for sexual abuse also found him guilty of defaming his victim, E. Jean Carroll, and slapped him with an $83.3 million fine. That, along with the fine from his civil fraud conviction, has left him half a billion dollars in debt for his legal wrongdoings. Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said his former boss fits the dictionary definition of a fascist. After Kelly said that, 13 members of Trump’s former administration all signed a letter publicly backing up Kelly’s claims and warning that Trump seeks “absolute, unchecked power.”
Zero consequences for committing crimes
Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over Trump’s civil fraud case. In writing the verdict for the case, Judge Engoron wrote “The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.” (Source: Instagram/ABC News)
The Department of Justice failed to take Trump’s legal transgressions seriously and bring him to justice before the election. When he was president before, Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause by accepting foreign and domestic payments through his businesses. He never divested from his businesses as he had promised voters he would, and he never faced any consequences for it.
Trump overcharged the Secret Service by 300% for stays in rooms at his hotels, reaping personal financial benefit from the presidency in violation of law. He led a conspiracy to defraud American voters by orchestrating a plot to use fake electors and summoning a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on January , 2021 and try to overthrow the 2020 election results so he could stay in office. We all saw it happen, and yet he never faced even one consequence for any of it.
The major media gave Trump a pass by treating him like he was a run-of-the-mill candidate and failed to make it clear that Trump is more extreme and has displayed more criminality than any other presidential candidate in U.S. history. When the narrative was “Biden is too old to hold office,” the media relentlessly hammered Biden over it, but after Biden dropped out of the race and Trump became the oldest presidential candidate in U.S. history, there wasn’t a peep about his advanced age, despite his increasingly demented behavior at rallies, like rambling on about sharks, batteries, cows and genitalia, dancing to music for 40 minutes and leaving thousands of supporters stranded at a rally in the California desert where temperatures were over 100 degrees. The media gave him a pass, hardly mentioning any of it.
Trump acted the part of a strong man but portrayed himself as a victim whenever it came to crimes he was accused of committing, and people bought it.
The sad truth is Americans who were duped into voting for Trump will get what they voted for all right, but it won’t be what they had in mind. Trump is no counterculture superhero who is going to save them from anything. He doesn’t know about policy, nor does he care. He doesn’t care about inflation because he has plenty of money. He doesn’t care about the difficulty and expense you’re having with buying food, getting health care or child care or the cost of your housing. He’s a power-thirsty, narcissistic criminal who is only out to enrich himself and draw attention to himself, and who has never faced any consequences for his lifetime of criminal behavior.
People will start to feel the truth of their big Trump 2.0 mistake after he empties the country of immigrants, causing soaring food prices and shortages of food because there are fewer people to pick fruits and vegetables and process meat. They’ll feel it when there are fewer people who can repair and replace roofs, build houses, do road maintenance and work in restaurants. They’ll feel it after prices soar on household goods after Trump installs his tariffs on imported goods. They’ll feel it when there’s a shortage of new cars because the parts are made in foreign countries that are subject to tariffs. They’ll find out after Trump stocks his cabinet with billionaires who will look out for their own interests while endangering Americans, like making the anti-vaccine character Robert F. Kennedy Jr. head of public health and handing Elon Musk a made-up cabinet position that will allow him to block the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from investigating fatal accidents involving Teslas. People will find out after Trump signs a national abortion ban into law, forcing people to have to leave not just their state, but their country to obtain reproductive health care for potentially fatal problems like ectopic pregnancies, sepsis and fetal abnormalities.
We are looking into an abyss like no other in American history.
By electing Trump, handing him a Republican House and Senate, and doing so after the Supreme Court’s ruling putting presidents above the law and handing them immunity from crimes committed while in office, Americans have dealt American democracy a serious blow, maybe a death blow. They’ve also dealt a blow to freedom and democracy around the world. We’ll have a criminal on the loose in the highest office of the land, and no one with the ability to rein him in.
When we all start suffering under the criminality, lies, cruelty and ruthlessness of Trump 2.0, there will be no one to blame but Americans who voted for him as we lose our human and civil rights, our freedom and remaining functioning institutions, and as we circle the drain into authoritarianism, kleptocracy and oligarchy.
Let’s not forget what happened in 2000, the last time the Republicans controlled all 3 branches of government. They ignored warnings about 911, started 2 wars that each lasted over 20 years and accomplished nothing, started with a balanced budget and ended with a 1.5 trillion annual deficit, had one of the worst financial crises in history in 2008. We have some painful times in front of us, not even considering the consequences of climate change. It’s going to be a disaster
I was so looking forward to your post mortem. This one is so long and detailed, with so many links from liberal sources, that I imagine you started typing on Tuesday night, right after you read the writing on the wall.
Your main message is that Donald Trump is a criminal.
What you overlook is that he has been investigated for eight years and somehow is free. First it was the FBI, which was so convinced he was a Russian stooge that they violated laws and ruined lives. Then it was Nancy Pelosi and her sidekick, Adam Schiff who impeached him twice, but he was never convicted.
Then, right after he announced he was running again, New York got busy changing laws that turned misdemeanors into felonies and changed the statute of limitations, so that the lovely Jean Carrol (who couldn’t remember any dates) could sue him for a rape she claimed happened twenty years prior.
Then the DOJ went to work with Jack Smith accusing him of…two really really bad acts. I hear Jack is packing up and going back to Brussels. And who the hell knows what Fanni Willis is going to do?
It would seem, that your main beef should be with the justice system.
Also, I’d like to take issue with your warnings about deporting “migrants” and that our standard of living is sure to suffer without them. You leave off the word “illegal”. You seem to be in favor of a permanent underclass of people who work “on the cheap”.
Did you know that the great Ceasar Chavez was against illegal immigration because he knew that they only drive down the wages of blue collar workers?
But that’s economics…and everyone sees that except high minded democrats who live in an “unreality”.
He won decisively. Good luck getting through these next really dark years. Maybe the democrats should concentrate on coming up with decent candidates. But that’s hard.
.much easier to trash Trump.
Badhat:
I’d buy a used car from The Former and Future Guy.
I will send my team of construction workers to build another golden stairway for TFAFG, knowing my workers will get paid.
I feel secure that The Guy will continue to guard our nation’s security, and safeguard top secret materials.
One thing, Badhat, that causes me to draw the line in my almost global trust of The Guy, is the sad role model he is regarding women.
Hey Bill!
I’m pretty sure Trump would be touched by your trust in him. However, I think he prefers escalators to stairs. Do you think your team of construction workers could handle that?
As far as the “sad role model he is regarding women”…maybe you could reach out to
Susie Wiles who will be the first female chief of staff to a president in history. She’s worked for Trump since 2016 and has been, reportedly, a woman her entire life.
Badhat,
Don’t worry. Trump will fuck it up just like he does everything else, every time. While I admire your wrongheaded bad faith defense of him (Cesar Chavez? Really? How disingenuous of you!), I do wonder about your thoughts on the people that worked with him directly during his administration that have now publicly stated he is what he is: a thief, liar, idiot, fascist, etc. What say you? Trump claimed repeatedly to have hired the best people, and these best people have said some very, very bad things about Trump. So? What are your thoughts?
So, the jury convicted Trump. For rape. That means he is a rapist. Dress it up anyway you like. The jury. Found him. Guilty.
As for the rest of your drivel…. Arguing with you is akin to nailing pudding to a wall, badhat. You are skilled, I’ll give you that, but you’re also dogmatic and unwilling or incapable of any self-correction, and much of what you say requires correction. Which means arguing or even conversing with you is a fool’s errand.
Sorry Craig, the jury did not find Trump guilty of Rape. Look it up.
You’re right. Sexual assault.
Where my daughter, wife, mother are concerned, six of one, half a dozen of the other.
But technically, you are correct. Of course, five million dollars later…
I laughed so hard yesterday when I heard RFK Jr. say that if we have the information on vaccines we can determine if they are safe and we can choose to get them or not. As a healthcare worker for the past 27 years, I can tell you where the information is and how effective each vaccine is. It’s all out there on the CDC website with links to each company’s drug trials. This is the “man” you want in charge of women’s health care initiatives in our country? No thank you! I can make my own health care decisions, and I do know how to read the information on the CDC website and I can read the drug trials, and yes, I am current on all of my vaccines, including COVID! And, I have had an abortion, so if you want to talk about it, let’s go.
I hate to jump to conclusions but I think you are confused. RFK isnt wanting to be in charge of your health care. In fact, according to you, he explicitly recommends what you already do.
Calm down.
BHH, you appear to enjoy jumping to conclusions. You also enjoy cherry picking what points to respond to, and often you can be found purposefully ignoring the main point for some irrelevant nonsense you notice.
Lots of people who post here don’t have a “main point” but I often find something to quibble with…particularly Anne’s opinions.
However, MaryLou’s post pretty explicitly said she is annoyed at RFK because he wants Americans to “do their own research”. She then recounts how she “does her own research” by accessing the CDC website. I merely pointed out that she’s annoyed about nothing because her method is what RFK is endorsing, although he may not be as trusting of the CDC as she is.
The only point she made which I didn’t address is how proud she is of having had an abortion.
BHH,
Not proud, just extremely fortunate that back in 1975, Roe had recently been passed, and I could have a legal abortion. Many young women no longer have that choice in their home state.
As for the rest of your assessment of my comments, I think you completely missed the point, as usual!
First, we need to understand the left lied over and over. Biden was shoved down our throats. First, it was Biden’s mental state and forcing us to believe nothing was amiss there, when it was quite obvious. Then it was inflation. We were told over and over that it wasn’t that bad and there were far worse things to focus on. Meanwhile, most working Americans began spending the majority of their paycheck on housing and food, and let’s not forget childcare. Finally, Biden stepped down way too late in the game. I think Covid played a big part with prices, which kept rising and when it came down to it, the majority of voters chose Trump because there’s no getting around the fact that during his Presidency, people were better off financially. My husband who worked in retail for 25 years and never saw his 401K grow much said it was during Trump’s term that his 401k grew by over 100k! Let that sink in. So, you add all this up, and it should be no surprise that Trump won. It sucks so see a convicted criminal, sexual predator and fascist lead our Country. Look at where Americans get their news. I actually know people I work with my age (50’s) who openly admit they get their news from social media. This is who we’ve become. We are a country of children and adults who are addicted to Tik Tok, FB, IG. People can’t sit still and read a book or newspaper anymore. They have their face in their phone all day, just spinning away. I’m shocked our local newspaper is still in business. Kids are being enrolled in religious institutions and online schools as young as kindergarten. They are not learning the skills they need to be successful adults. They aren’t learning social skills and how to critically think. We are fast becoming a brain drain nation, if we haven’t already arrived. We have become anti-science, anti-woman, anti-environment and we seem to be focusing more on an imaginary man up in the sky when real world problems are plaguing us more than ever!
I’m concerned that progressives have not made the case for how policies we push help “normal”, working people – really Obama was the exception for making that argument. Trump would have won in 2020 if it hadn’t been for COVID. 2020 wasn’t Americans seeing the light about Trump. I’m interested in how we can move forward pushing things that help the majority of Americans – ending Citizens United, campaign limits, going after monopolies/collusion, higher taxes on profits and the wealthy, strengthening social programs, free post-high school training, housing, etc… otherwise we will have this forever.
Good quote from R Nader; “When we all start suffering under the criminality, lies, cruelty and ruthlessness of Trump 2.0, there will be no one to blame but Americans who voted for him as we lose our human and civil rights, our freedom and remaining functioning institutions, and as we circle the drain into authoritarianism, kleptocracy and oligarchy.”
We have to break up this duopoly (Blue v Red) with lesser of two evils as choices. I have not felt represented since the Dems refused to allow Sanders into primary. Independent voters grow each election.
Ranked. Choice.
Lets look at his foreign policy blunders we can anticipate (from Colonel Wilkerson). Well worth the listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br_xcGgoXio
The last dozen or so elections have been a matter of choosing the lessor of two evils. Until the system changes, it will remain the same.
I’m completely disgusted by the outcome of this election and, unlike his supporters who pick and choose what to believe what he says, I believe he’ll do what he says. I expect Nancy Pelosi, Liz Cheney Jack Smith and others will be in grave danger. I expect to lose my ability to vote. I expect the military to take out his political enemies. I expect to lose Medicare and Social Security and the rich to get richer and the rest of us to go through another Great Depression. I expect Project 2025 to come to fruition. I’m a very optimistic person and can usually see the silver lining in things, but this takeover has been very well orchestrated and there are no roadblocks anymore. I fear for our country and am pretty pissed off with half of the American voting public.
What is it about today that has people believing in such an alternative universe?
Do you listen to what he says? Why would you not believe what he says? It’s not an alternate universe. There are no checks and balances anymore. The Supreme Court has lifted any accountability. The Republican Party supports him no matter what, and they would never give that same pass to a Democrat. We are living in another world once he takes office again. I expect things to never be the same in my lifetime.
Don’t forget the gerrymandering, the voter suppression, Elon Musks billions (which hell make back tenfold) and the overall ignorance of the electorate. I’m calling it. The US sucks. And no, I’m not leaving because the US has the most resources and I can’t afford to leave.
Trump voters have no conscience. The country deserves what it gets.
Great summation, Anne. All true. Scares me to death.
I encourage all to download Project 2025, this WILL take the place of our Constitution. It’s searchable so you can find info on what interests you the most (900+ pages). From what I have read it is filled with lies, bad information, numbers that don’t make sense or come from who knows where. No sources or attributions. It is, however, a glowing report card for trump’s first term.
Here’s an example of their push to privatize Social Security:
“Existing statutory language in the Social Security Act24 does not prohibit non-public organizations from administering the program, nor does it specifically authorize states to do so. Further, the Administration can replicate state-level experiments in welfare programs and empower state officials to adapt UI to local conditions and needs.”
https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
Nah. Badhat will jump in with his signature wit and equivocations. Not to mention his trademark whataboutism. I mean, so Trump raped a woman and was found guilty. He can’t be ALL bad, can he?
The End