All of which raises this question: If Trump and his fellow Republicans are harming so many Americans, how did they get into office in the first place? During the 2016 election, large majorities of voters considered Trump "risky," dishonest, and temperamentally unsuited to the job. So how, exactly, did he become president?
Nonvoters are a much larger group than either voting Republicans or voting Democrats, reflecting broad dissatisfaction with available choices. Democrats have failed to convince enough voters that they can bring about needed change.
And the GOP are old hands at this: they've been gerrymandering, race-baiting -- albeit more subtly con than Trump -- and suppressing votes for decades.
Unless something changes, Republicans could hang on to power indefinitely. That would allow them to stack the judiciary with corrupt ideologues at all levels, undermine our remaining democratic processes, and continue ransacking the American majority on behalf of the wealthy.
The threat of nuclear war is very real, of course, although South Koreans are far more likely to suffer horrific losses if it breaks out than Americans are.
But Trump, unstable as he is, is not an aberration in today's political system. He's a reflection of it. Our political process was broken before he came along. It will still be broken after he's gone, unless something is done to change it.
Trump must be opposed, just as Ryan, McConnell, and Vice President Mike Pence must be opposed. But so must the system that gave them power. Unless it's changed, it may produce even more terrifying leaders in the years to come.
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