Now is not the time

Although a blue wave looks promising on Election Day, this is no time to celebrate. In these final hours, we must try to make sure that people we know don’t feel overconfident about the outcome. Everyone’s vote matters, and if people stay home because they assume the Biden-Harris ticket will win (or because they’re resigned to the fact that it won’t), then the United States is surely headed toward a very dark place.

A second Trump term is a frightening prospect that would make his first term seem remarkably bearable, by comparison. Although we can imagine what Trump’s second term might entail, we don’t know exactly what would happen. However, Trump and others in his administration have recently dropped hints about the nature and extent of their evil plans.

Last night, even as Trump’s failed pandemic response breaks new records, Trump revealed his intention to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci while speaking at a Florida rally. When the crowd began its “Fire Fauci!” chants, Trump responded with “Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election. I appreciate the advice.” Thanks to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ admission last week that the White House is “not going to control the pandemic,” firing Dr. Fauci seems inevitable if the plan is to continue ignoring the pandemic in a second term.

Beyond firing Dr. Fauci, Trump has a long list of other personnel replacements in mind, according to a report from Jonathan Swan of Axios. For starters, Trump is expected to immediately fire FBI Director Christopher Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper if he wins reelection. As Swan bluntly put it, “A win, no matter the margin, will embolden Trump to ax anyone he sees as constraining him from enacting desired policies or going after perceived enemies.”

Senior Advisor Stephen Miller has also been salivating over his depraved anti-immigration initiative for a potential second term. In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Miller revealed that the diabolical plot would include further restricting asylum and work visas, punishing and outlawing sanctuary cities, and expanding travel bans and visa screening requirements. Miller indicated that the Trump administration would rely heavily on executive orders rather than the normal legislative process. The devil is always in the details, and you can be sure the devil would be quite involved in a second Trump term.

After the corrupt Republican-led Senate failed to remove Trump after his impeachment, it now falls upon us to ensure that the last four years will be logged as an aberrant chapter of American history, rather than merely a prelude to an even more nightmarish dystopia. We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, must finish the job by voting to replace this oafish dictator with someone who cares about our democracy and the individuals who build it up each day. Jubilation and relief are not yet here, but they gaze at us longingly from the horizon.