The Limits Of A Trump Presidency

There’s a moment in every presidential campaign where the most intense political junkies begin to think of the coming November election as an existential question. With the polls showing Donald Trump catching up to Hillary Clinton, we’re at that moment now. Political junkies are starting to think that if the election goes the wrong way, the “country is over.”

Understandably, many people are nervous that Donald Trump can win. He is a unique candidate. He demonstrates a unique lack of self-control. Some of his supporters have experienced his campaign as a liberation from the social strictures against venting their hatred of other Americans based on their race and ethnicity. Trump and his campaign have amplified racist and anti-Semitic ideas as well.

Yet many Republicans are still going to vote Trump for the most conventional reasons: They’re Republicans and he’s the party’s candidate. They may be pro-life or anti-gun control, and dread Hillary’s judicial nominations. They may still think of the GOP as the small-government party. They’ll vote Republican because that’s what their sort of person is expected to do. Because of this, Trump may win.

If that happens, many of the people who opposed him will feel a sense of panic. What wasn’t supposed to have happened will be reality. His trolls will encourage this freakout as well. If this, what else? And what next?

Read more at The Week.