When Experts Said Trump’s Re-Election Will Usher In a 'Revenge Term': "A Disaster for America"

Experts warn that America is headed for a disaster, as Donald Trump's poll numbers indicate he could take the oath of office again next year. As Trump leads current President Joe Biden in a hypothetical rematch and is most likely the Republican nominee, millions of people fear this worst-case scenario.

Often upfront and candid about his intentions for a second term, Trump promised to remove the 'deep state' by hiring ideological cronies and plans to pardon January 6 insurrectionists. He'd be appointing right-wing attorneys to government jobs, mobilizing the Justice Department against his opponents and critics, such as William Barr and John Kelly, and even thinking of deploying the military domestically under the Insurrection Act.

Many experts believe this recipe would result in a sordid disaster for the country. A History Professor at American University, Allan Lichtman, told The Guardian, “It would be a disaster for America. He’s already made it very clear that his second term is going to be a revenge term.” Litchman emphasized that Trump would likely misuse government authority to 'persecute and prosecute his enemies to cement his own power.'

The academic further explained, “He’s already shown he has no respect for the law or the traditions of American democracy, and so a second Trump term would be very frightening. The overwhelming consensus among scientists is that we are getting close to the point of no return on climate change, and four years of Trump would be a disaster for the planet. He wants to drill, dig, and burn.”

Despite avoiding the GOP primary debates, Trump has revealed details of his second-term program at rallies and through social media messages. This vision, far more aggressive than his first term, calls for an expanded border wall, the use of special troops to battle Mexican drug cartels (as they had against ISIS), and a death sentence for drug dealers.

In addition, Trump vows to repeal diversity initiatives in schools, impose harsher voting restrictions, and take punitive action against healthcare professionals who provide gender-affirming care. Trump promised that he'd put an immediate stop to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as well. Given Mike Johnson's emergence as the House Speaker, it appears that there is no resistance to the former President within the GOP. A Trump win may also replicate the 2016 result and give Republicans control of both houses. 

Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, explained that Trump's scenario makes use of 'the tools of the executive branch being used for retribution, for dismantling our democratic institutions.'

He added, “...you also see right-wing MAGA members of the House and the Senate controlling the legislature. We have a white Christian nationalist now who is speaker of the House and would in all likelihood be speaker of the House in 2025, not in a Democratic or Republican split government scenario but one in which he can actually set policy.” Levin believes we're likely to see the 'entirety of the agenda that they tried to push in 2017,' with little to no moderation since the moderates in the GOP were replaced by Trump supporters.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 14, 2023. It has since been updated.