Trump's a loser (again)

Peering into my crystal ball: Harris wins; Trump can't replicate the J6 insurrection; Republicans can't shake him until 2027, either.

The countdown continues…only 17 days until Election Day.

Encountering those words, what emotions are stirred inside you?

Stress? Sadness? Despair?

Or hope? Eagerness? Excitement?

“All of the above” is my answer. Let’s get on with it, already!

Politics shouldn’t play this prominent a role in our daily life…yet, here we are.

All the chaos, the misinformation, the ugliness lowering the bar to new depths has prompted some to check out entirely. Though that’s not been my response (so far), I can see where tuning out the Presidential race may be essential in preserving one’s peace of mind.

With a steady stream of polls washing over us at every turn, below I offer my own series of predictions, while checking in on your perspective.

(Don’t worry—like any genuine American who values democratic principles, I won’t cast doubt on your integrity, or the integrity of the results, if a majority see things differently.)

Prediction #1

Vice President Kamala Harris will secure more electoral votes than Joe Biden tallied in 2020, when he defeated incumbent Donald Trump, 306 to 232 (and received 81 million votes, versus 74 million for Trump).

Illustration of a still frame I took of Trump during his June debate with President Joe Biden.

Sure, polls suggest the race can go either way, just as in 2016 and 2020. But Harris will win a lion’s share of the swing states, starting with Pennsylvania, while also picking up states that are newly-up-for-grabs, including North Carolina.

I’d put her over/under at 315 electoral college votes.

Prediction #2

Unless he wins, we all know Trump will not accept the election results. So, here’s the prediction if (when) he’s again a loser: his bid to challenge this defeat will fall flat and there will not be a repeat of anything remotely like the January 6 insurrection.

Partly, this is because we’ve already seen this nightmarish play. Mostly, though, it’s because Trump won’t have the power of the Presidency to flagrantly abuse as he did four years ago.

Prediction #3

The Democratic Party will regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s essentially a toss-up, and the coin falls Dems’ way.

Prediction #4

The Republican Party will take control of the U.S. Senate. The pendulum swings back and forth.

Prediction #5

Despite his continued sinking of the Republican Party—and the everlasting blight his stranglehold on the party will have for generations to come—Trump is not about to go quietly into that good night.

Saddled with a variety of criminal legal woes, he will vie to be the GOP’s nominee in 2028. Finally, however, someone else will emerge as his successor.

This prediction will take considerably longer to be proven accurate or off-base. I’d be surprised if, somehow, Trump manages to secure another nomination in 2028. However, I’m beyond the point of being shocked.

After all, 45 months and one day ago, when Trump left the Oval Office, how many people figured he’d be the nominee now? Many have underestimated the level of the Republican Party’s dysfunction and disarray…and we may be underestimating it still.

If Trump, at 82, were to become the GOP nominee again, consider this: That year, anyone 33 or younger would never have been able to vote for anyone other than him at the top of the GOP ticket.

Let tomorrow worry about itself when the time comes, though. We have enough to contend with today.