i think it depends how much of a shitshow the next 4 years is, especially in terms of imperial aggression. probably trumps greatest sin was having an administration that could not prosecute empire effectively. failed coups in latam, the afghanistan drawdown, inconsistent saber rattling towards eastern powers (Russia) and states DPRK belligerent to our proxies (SK). not to mention, he kept threatening the western NATO agreement. i think all of that combined set off alarms and caused capital formations to step in and commit to the rhetorical delegitimization of trump as a political actor across all media and the elevation of biden (a war hawk for his entire life) as the tonic to cure america.

the vaguely center-left was removed from the playing field in possibly an ever bigger rat fuck than 2016, despite winning the first 3 primaries and many voters just wanted the weariness of the trump era to end. we talk about it as "brunch is back" and its true it is a lot about vibes, but i do remember the constant drum banging about whatever fresh new corrupted horror was happening in the whitehouse. like every day there was something new that was fucked, and rather than obscure it like the media does for other presidents, they showed us all of it in full horror. a lot of apolitical people just wanted that to stop so they could go back the world before.

of course, the liberals took that mandate and libbed it up real good so america is still fucked and full of people looking down the barrel of a future with somehow less material security and, for those looking close enough, all the features of trump are still here: the carceral state, the war mongering, the no-healthcare-for-you, the murder cops continuing to do all the murders, etc. and jesus christ, biden's brain was fucking gone on live TV. so the biden coalition collapsed abruptly. kamala's political machine tried to pop the clutch near the finish line and go from zero to 100 but instead tore its drivetrain apart and rolled into a ditch, because it was a completely frame rusted 1995 Chevy Blazer with a really slick paint job being operated by committee of hand selected idiots with only one message for the natsec state: the wars will continue!

so now we get another trump term. and frankly, i think what happens inside the core is going to be second place to how he upholds or undermines the western-backed mission to maintain a unipolar world, especially in terms of the Far East and MENA. if he lays back and lets the administrative state run it, we might get another anointed republican who can play ball with the natsec state. but if he gets hands on, acts mercurial with allies, puts his own incompetent weirdos in charge and seeks to use his influence to control the selection of a successor, i think capital will shut it down and cram another neolib on us.