I created this blog to elaborate on my book, American Ways (2016). I began it with the question "Are We Headed for Another Civil War?" (posted February 23, 2017). I followed up with further blogs on this topic during March 2017. Now, about three years later, the possibility of another civil war seems even closer. On September 30, 2019, a megachurch pastor in Texas predicted that if Pres. Donald Trump were successfully impeached then there would be a revolt of Evangelical Christians and "a Civil War like fracture of the Nation." Trump retweeted this prediction and added "Democrats don't care if they burn down and destroy this nation." In Trump's mind, impeachment always was purely partisan and a way for Democrats to reverse the election of 2016 (in which he won the Electoral College, but lost the country-wide popular vote), and to prevent his re-election in 2020. He has reiterated several times that he is the barrier to a civil war coming from the Radical Left. His attitude about his Presidency reminds me of Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, who warned "After me, the deluge" and defended the doctrine of absolute monarchy in the 1600s. Trump has often tweeted his own version of the Absolute Presidency.
Rather than preventing it, Trump will more likely cause a civil war.The next American civil war will center on the continued legitimacy of Trump in the White House. Less than a year yet, Trump supporters are already warning of a fixed presidential election this November. Four years ago Trump complained that the 2016 election would be fixed, "unless I win, of course." In response to the failed results of the Iowa Democratic caucus on February 4, Donald Trump, Jr., tweeted "The fix is in...AGAIN…." His brother Eric tweeted, "Mark my words. They are rigging this thing." This trend in objecting to false elections (like false news) suggests that if Trump were to lose re-election, he will ignore the results and claim that he actually won. Buying time to prove (or fabricate) his case, he will refuse to vacate the White House, even after January 20, 2021. In this scenario, the new Senate may recognize the Electoral College selection of the Democrat candidate as the winner and allow him or her to be sworn in as the new President. If force were used to evict Trump and install the new President in the Oval Office, there will be widespread violence between Trump loyalists and Democrats who will be in positions of public authority. In another scenario, if Trump were to lose he may peacefully leave the White House, but refuse to attend the inauguration of the new President, whom he will condemn as the Phony President. His more violent base will take up arms and march on the White House. If the police or the Army fires upon them, then there will be a civil war of periodic assassinations, bombings, arsons, and occasional shootouts (not military battles like the last Civil War) between the Trumpobites supporting the "Pretender" and the Democratic Administration.
Another possibility is that Trump wins re-election, but Democrats contest the results as bogus. They will accuse Trump and the Republicans (and the Russians) of fixing the results of polling places, especially in critical swing states. The contested results will begin in various state and Federal courts and then spill into the streets as demonstrations, which will turn ugly in time. In this scenario the Democrat winner of the election will be "The Usurper" and Trump will become a virtual dictator imposing martial law across the entire country, only inciting further violence by The Resistance.
I will pursue further scenarios in the future.
copyright 2020 Stephen M. Millett (All rights reserved.)
