What is likely to happen when/if trump dies?
It must surely be imminent. He’s not in the best health if the reports about him eating mcdonalds all the time are true. Say he had a heart attack next week… then what? Presumably Vance would take over as actual president, but I can’t imagine anyone being as bad as him. Would the maga movement continue with a different cult leader? Do you think things would meaningfully change?
I heard something very fascinating on pod save America this morning: the Maga cultists don’t follow Trump because they worship Trump, they follow Trump because they believe the same things that Trump believes. If some other leader spewed the exact same things, they would follow that person, too.
Really, this is a huge problem for the Republican Party, as all of the Maga cultists would probably break away from the Republican Party and possibly dissolve into a disorganized slurry of right wing crazy. This would leave the Republican Party massively weekend as a result, and most of the independents that voted for Trump in the last election would likely defect to the Democrats.
Trump has built a “broad tent” with support from a lot of different demographics.
I suppose I agree that MAGA cultists support him because they believe the same things. I think it’s more apt to describe it as Trump gives them permission to indulge their shitty beliefs, but I guess that’s the same.
_j_