"There will be no rebuilding": Bracing America for the implementation of Project 2025 [View all]

"There will be no rebuilding": Bracing America for the implementation of Project 2025
Donald Trump's return to power further undermines America's self-image of greatness

By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published January 14, 2025 6:00AM (EST)


(Salon) Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election was an extreme failure for the United States as both a nation and a country. He has open contempt for democracy and the Constitution. He is publicly promising and threatening (and putting in place the means) to rule as the country’s first elected dictator on “day one.” Trump, like other such autocrats and authoritarians, means what he says both literally and figuratively.

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A nation consists of shared values and ideas, myths, narratives, stories and a sense of shared community and identity (and perhaps even destiny) that tie together a people. One of the tenets of America as a nation is a belief in American Exceptionalism. Be it a “shining city on a hill” or “the world’s greatest democracy,” Trump's return to power further undermines America's self-image of greatness. The United States has now been brought down to the level of being common, and just another of many examples across the centuries, of how a failing and sick democracy succumbs to demagogues, strongmen and authoritarians and their false promises of renewed greatness and easy solutions to complex problems.

To that point, the international democracy and human rights advocacy and watchdog organization Freedom House gave the United States 83 points in its annual ranking of freedom around the world. This is similar to countries such as Croatia, Panama and Romania. Mongolia and Argentina, for example, scored higher than the United States.

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Cheri Jacobus, a former Republican, is a political strategist, writer and host of the podcast "Politics With Cheri Jacobus."

In retrospect, we all should have been more keenly aware of the fact that we are a 50/50 nation in modern presidential elections. The country is split down the middle. Not only does it make it "easier” or more "necessary" to cheat with the Electoral College but places our democracy and elections in severe jeopardy. Whoever the nominee of each party, and no matter their crimes, indictments, sins, lies, theft, treason, or apparent mental illness, they are a coin toss from the presidency from the get-go.

Once Merrick Garland allowed and facilitated Trump to skate on the worst acts imaginable not only against individuals but against our democracy and national security we were in deep trouble. The minute Trump was able to announce he was running for president it was clear it was to avoid prison. And Merrick Garland knew it. And enabled it. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/14/there-will-be-no-rebuilding-bracing-america-for-the-implementation-of-project-2025/