What will things be like?

[Dwight]

It might be unpleasant to think about, but what if all the social programs were slashed? At least Utah would not have to fret about saying no to warming centers to keep people from freezing in the winter.

The birth rate at BYU would drop drastically. I grew up knowing of Benson’s hate of government programs and even saying if a BYU student couldn’t afford a kid then he should quit school and go out and get a job before looking elsewhere. My friend’s wife in 2003 told us how her first visit from the married students ward’s relief society they came with a small binder of information including a bunch about different government programs that would essentially let them get started on having babies immediately.

[Moksha]

I can't help but feel that from now until January 20th will be our last remaining days of normalcy.

[Gunnar]

I can't help but feel that from now until January 20th will be our last remaining days of normalcy.

I dread what will probably happen during the next 4 years as a result of the Musk/Trump presidency. There seems little doubt that they will interpret the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and the press as license to promote any and all lies that they think will serve their ends, while doing their best to suppress and take away the broadcast licenses of any media willing to expose their lies. They have already, in some red states, taken legislative action to enact laws to permit legislatures with conservative majorities to even overturn election results they don't like.

[Moksha]

On that other thread, Ajax pretends that Trump will not act like a power-mad dictator.

[Gunnar]

On that other thread, Ajax pretends that Trump will not act like a power-mad dictator.

Yet, I can't help getting the impression from him that he would actually be at least somewhat disappointed in Trump if he didn't act that way.

[Gunnar]

Trump is making it perfectly clear what things will be like during his reign:

Maddow Blog | Trump’s reaction to the New Orleans attack went from bad to worse

As he prepares for his second inauguration, Donald Trump faces a great many challenges, but responding to the deadly attack in New Orleans shouldn’t have been one of them. On the contrary, this could have been, and should have been, incredibly easy.

In the world of presidential politics, there’s an obvious script to follow in the aftermath of such a tragedy: Leaders extend their sympathies, honor the victims and their loved ones, thank first responders, and vow to stand with the community as it takes steps to recover.

The president-elect apparently prefers a very different kind of script.

As the public first started learning the details of what happened in New Orleans, the Republican’s first instinct was to tell Americans how right he was, falsely suggest that the suspected terrorist — a U.S. Army veteran born in Texas — was an immigrant, followed by some demonstrably untrue claims about the national crime rates. By flunking tests of accuracy, decency and credibility, Trump reminded Americans that we just can’t count on him for reliable and trustworthy information in the wake of a tragedy.

Some of the Republican’s defenders have suggested that the misinformation he touted wasn’t entirely his fault: Fox News reported that the suspect had crossed over the border from Mexico earlier this week. The network soon after walked back its reporting, but Trump — relying on conservative media instead of intelligence briefings — left his original statement intact.

And then he decided to stick with the misinformation, apparently preferring it to reality. NBC News reported:

In the runup to Election Day 2024, the Republican pushed a closing message that was rooted, to a surprising degree, in a fundamentally dystopian vision: The United States, Trump insisted, was a “garbage can.” Americans live in a “failing nation” and a “nation in decline,” he declared. Told in October that America is a great country, the then-GOP candidate said — out loud and on the record — that he disagreed.

The day after the attack in New Orleans, Trump picked up on the same sentiment, telling the public by way of his social media platform that the United States is “a disaster” and an international “laughing stock.” He added that federal law enforcement agencies, as well as many state and local prosecutors, are “incompetent and corrupt.”

In case that weren’t quite enough, in the same online missive, the incoming president added that “violent SCUM” has “infiltrated all aspects of our government,” and “only strength and powerful leadership will stop it” — the kind of rhetoric one generally expects from those with inherently authoritarian intentions.

Hours later, the president-elect published yet another message, condemning “the Biden ‘Open Border’s Policy,’” despite the fact that (a) the New Orleans suspect was a U.S. Army veteran from Texas; (b) the border clearly isn’t open; and (c) there is no apostrophe in the word “borders.”

Trump went on to describe President Joe Biden — who’s been nothing but gracious toward his successor since the election — as “the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA” and a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER.” The Republican concluded, “What he and his group of Election Interfering ‘thugs’ have done to our Country will not soon be forgotten!”

Something MSNBC’s Chris Hayes told viewers last night continues to resonate: “It absolutely sends a chill up my spine to imagine what [Trump’s] response will be if we have the misfortune of having another major crisis — like another pandemic or financial panic or massive terrorist attack.”

This should’ve been such an easy task for the incoming president, but he just can’t seem to pass simple tests.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

Don't be surprised if one of the first things Trump tries to do after taking office is to use this domestic terrorist attack as an excuse to declare martial law nationwide. He apparently seems intent on becoming an absolute dictator as soon as he can, probably suspending civil liberties and free elections, while taking vengeance on and trying to prosecute and criminalize any opposition to his policies. I expect him to try to suspend broadcast licenses of any media that refuses to accept his lies as gospel truth.