Some may read read an article in Salon this morning and mournfully said the words in my title. To this I would respond with the equally sorrowful words about it not making much difference whether Trump or Vance was president.
One of Salon’s senior writers, Chauncey Devega1 spelled out exactly what I think today in this essay:
DeVega does this under this heading:
In “Star Wars” the Empire is: “An oppressive dictatorship with a complicated bureaucracy, the Galactic Empire seeks the rule and social control of every planet and civilization within the galaxy, based on anthropocentrism, nationalisation, state terrorism, power projection, and threat of lethal force.” Wikipedia
If you’re a Star Wars fan you know that in their quest to rule the galaxy they thought nothing about destroying an inhabited planet with the Death Star.
Here are what I found to be the takeways from DeVega which express my fears:
(Trump and MAGA) are likely to escalate their attacks on American democracy because they have reasonably concluded that, with the 2026 midterms approaching, the window of maximum opportunity and leverage may be closing. To that end, Trump is amplifying his threats to use the Insurrection Act to invoke de facto martial law and order the military to invade Democratic-led cities. In such a scenario, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that elections could be suspended.
Increasingly, it appears that the administration’s ultimate goal is, just like in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Viktor Orban’s Hungary, to de facto outlaw the Democratic Party and any other opposition movement. Under that scenario, the United States would be ruled by a system of competitive authoritarianism. Elections would take place, but the outcome would be rigged in favor of Trumpists. That could even be the “best” outcome.
Since his return to office in January, Trump’s plans have become so extreme that the veneer of a fake democracy could even be replaced with a full-on authoritarian regime.
DeVega concludes with what I consider very guarded optimism:
… pro-democracy Americans saw hope turn into tangible victory. Trump and MAGA are not forever. The elections proved that American democracy can still fight back. The question is whether it can survive its next battle.
Unless one of the scenarios I described in yesterday’s Substack play out, because the president holds awesome powers, democracy could be replaced with a full-on authoritarian regime.
Countless pundits have noted that Vance has none of the charismatic hold over MAGA as Trump does. This is true. But I don’t think it matters.
What matters is probably whether or not he shares the personality disorder of the president:
Here’s an article which addreses a crucial question:
DeVega’s full-on authoritarian regime could be call a sadistic revenge fueled authoritarian regime marked by sideshows of self-indulgent expressions of gold plated grandiose narcissism or a Vance wonkish authoritarian one.
I doubt that if Vance became president he’d keep the likes of Stephen Miller, Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem on. I also think he’d get rid of Hegseth, Patel, and RFK Jr. once he realized Trump was dead and buried and he could chose anybody he want to as Cabinet members and close advisors. I don’t see him taking calls from Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson or cozying up to the dictator leaders of other counties. Gone would be the late night posts on Truth Social and the mishmash of lies, insults, and misinformation that from Trump’s mouth.
There’s a benefit to having Trump stay alive. It’s that his excesses are more likely to lead to some kind of government overturn than the benign authoritarian regime than we’d have with Vance.
Oregon
Chauncey DeVega is a senior politics writer for Salon. His essays can also be found at Chaunceydevega.com. He also hosts two weekly podcasts, The Chauncey DeVega Show and The Truth Report. Chauncey can be followed on Twitter and Facebook..
