Trump is in the hole, self-inflicted, yet we’ve seen him crawl out before. We’ve seen Republicans and Independents who condemn him, get amnesia and soft pedal his horrific moments. The ratings tick back up like a spell has taken hold. Five months until the November election is a long time. What if?
What’s the most likely path he’s gambling on? What’s our response to be?
1. The economy may ‘recover’ (or at least the DOW) despite COVID. People become desensitized to the virus, accept it as inevitable, forgetting that Trump made it so much worse with his denials and mismanagement. He’ll be once again hailed as the economic savior, and who cares that grandpa or even your best friend bit the dust? It’s all behind us. Will they buy it?
1a: Ready or not: Promise of a vaccine before the election: all Trump’s doing, of course.
2. A just-in news item plays to his agenda. Forget about George Floyd and racial injustice, we’ve just had a “fill-in-the-blank” domestic or foreign attack, people. And who best to respond with shock and awe?
And c’mon, the police did NOT fire upon protesters or use tear gas, all fake news. The church photo op videos were doctored. I’ll prove it with multiple !!!!!! and CAPS in my tweets !
Of course the military will return to my court, I just forced them to do another parade for me.
3. Oh, did you hear my new shocking revelation about Biden? (The next fabrication.) He’s as mud-coated as I am! What’s to lose if I make something up out of thin air?
3a: Re-dredging old “conspiracies” : Obamagate, Joe and Hunter in Ukraine, etc.…
4. A surprise world or domestic event that eclipses all the above. They seem to happen frequently these days.
5. Regardless of his ratings, more ploys for voter suppression. (This is big regardless.)
The point is: we must be prepared for a Trump shift. He’ll pull every trick in the Mein Kampf manual he can. Let’s hope we don’t go into “Whuh?” shock, and know how to grab the gear handle and shift him back down.