I'll start with a sliver of silver lining: I don't think he gets much done legislatively. My current expectation is that the Democrats win back control of the House regardless of the outcome of the Presidential election so he at least has a check on that front.
But on the flipside, I think its borderline a foregone conclusion that the GOP will take the Senate. In which case he gets to appoint more conservative judges that continue to issue rulings out of step with the majority of the country. Alito and Thomas both retire and the current conservative majority on the Supreme Court is cemented even further.
Faced with a Democratic House, he governs mostly by executive order. The federal bureaucracy becomes exponentially politicized following massive layoffs.
The 2026 midterms are a Blue Wave with Democrats growing their House majority and winning back the Senate.
MTG and her ilk propose repealing the 22nd Amendment which ultimately goes nowhere. Trump pays lip service to running again but is privately vindicated that he was able to stage a comeback in 2024 and surprisingly makes no concerted effort to run again in '28
The 2028 Presidential Election is a 2008 redux with a progressive Democrat being elected. Trump says he would've won in a landslide had he ran again.
So in sum, I'm naively optimistic the country survives but is undoubtedly worse off.
How does 2026 go for Dems? Is it like a 2018 or a 2010 in terms of seats gained?
Depends on how much Rs start with, but could see a D +15 generic ballot.
