I understand your position but I think you’re wrong. Fascists always, without exception, need a “charismatic” leader like the Nazis with Hitler or the Russians with Putin.
There’s currently only Trump who can fill that role.
It’s of course possible that another such person appears out of nowhere, but I don’t see anyone on their side.
Trump was a TV star and tacky racist celeb (birthed) since the 80s. His brand isn’t new, he build it over a long time.
Who do you think would fill his shoes if yesterday’s attempt had succeeded? There’s no one.
Raegan was a similar character previously. I don't doubt they will arise again. Certainly, there are many Republicans with the same reactionary politics.
That's not what Great Man Theory is. Trump is an excellent example of why Great Man Theory is wrong. Great Man Theory just states that history is guided by influential figures, which is wrong. The Material Conditions of society determine what ideas dominate, and thus people appearing to be influential become popular.
After thinking about this REALLY REALLY HARD...offing him will do nothing to stop the creep of facism. You have an entire party now aligned with the idealogices that the 3rd Reich had. And it's the entire party. MAGA killed the GOP after they got rid of Cheney. You cut one head off and 3 more will pop up identical to him...with vindication. Its going to be a yearly struggle and I'm afraid we won't be able to hold them back forever.
After thinking about this REALLY REALLY HARD…offing him will do nothing to stop the creep of [fascism]
Who would step in to replace Trump? Trump has worked hard to discredit anybody who could potentially challenge him. Strongmen often groom a son to take over for them, but only after they've been in power for many years. Trump might want Junior to take over, but I doubt even Trump's hand-picked yes-men would accept Junior at this point.
Instead you'd almost certainly get a power vacuum with various Republican factions trying to take over.
You cut one head off and 3 more will pop up
And those 3 would start snapping at each-other trying to become the dominant head. And, as long as they're distracted snapping at each-other, they're not going to be focusing on us.
IMO, Trump is also the only thing holding this right-wing coalition together. As soon as he's gone the factions are going to turn on each-other. The bad thing is that they've already shown that they're going to get violent when they feel their grip on power is slipping. I'm sure this assassination attempt is going to lead to right-wing violence, and if it had succeeded it would have been a lot more violence.
The most dangerous thing about Trump is that he's he's got almost half the US behind him. There are probably more cruel Republicans, and probably some who would be more effective at implementing their cruel policies. But, not many who would be able to get so much support and keep the coalition together.
The Republican base is getting smaller each year as old people die. It's not a popular platform with the younger voters. If the US can avoid a Trump win this year, the MAGA version of the Republican party will probably fall apart. Then it will be back to the regular corporatocracy that the US has been dealing with for decades. If he does win... well I'm glad I don't live in the US.
lemmy.world
Heiß