Has the ever-unpopular two-party system actually been our saving grace in the Trump era?

[Hope For A New Era]

I came to this realization very suddenly yesterday. I really do believe that the two-party system has prevented our country from becoming another Hungary. Imagine breaking each party - the Republicans would probably split into two (Trumpist and anti-Trumpist), while I could easily see the Democrats splitting into three or more. The result would be one large party with an unbreakable lock on 40% or so of the population, then ~5 small parties. The Trumpists could then do a Hungary and gerrymander the whole country to make it nearly impossible to remove them from power.

Notice Hungary's other recent political phenomenon as well: some progress has been made against Orbán's strength through opposition unity. In recent elections, it has been increasingly common to have just a single opposition candidate against the Fidesz candidate. This is really the only strategy that has been effective.

I think we're very lucky that in the United States, the opposition to right-wing populism is already by default consolidated into a single party.


Thoughts?