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I'm a bit cynical here and I think the country is headed down the same path whether Trump or Biden wins in November. We're seeing pseudo-fascist rhetoric increase in frequency. We're seeing authoritarian and militaristic policies pass virtually unopposed through our political system. War is virtually guaranteed with either candidate.
I know this opinion may be unpopular but I don't think this election matters very much. There are of course potential differences- such as access to abortion. If Biden wins, maybe there's more hope. But that's really it- just hope. Democrats have had majorities dozens of times since Roe V Wade was ruled and never wrote abortion into law.
I don't think it's suddenly going to change in the next 4 years which looks to be a potentially very dangerous period of time geopolitically speaking. Biden isn't going to have very much political capital to spend and the Overton Window is gradually shifting right.
Instead of looking only at this election, look at the next. And the one after. Do people think MAGA will go away? The world is in economic and geopolitical restructuring- instability breeds radicalism. The problem will likely only get worse. Especially with another weak Democratic administration.
Which brings me to the answer to your question. I have dual citizenship in South America. The only reasons I would leave the US are if there is a WW3 scenario or some sort of clear descent into a form of fascism. We're toying with it right now, but it can get a lot worse.
It probably won't be much better in my home country if I'm being honest, but there will be less chances for war. Any global war will inevitably involve the US in some capacity.
Have you heard about Project 2025? This is what’s so scary about Trump that isn’t true about Biden. In 2017, Trump was the dog who caught the car, but in 2025 he will come in with a plan and allies helping him move as fast as possible to unravel environmental protections, public school funding, consumer protections, scientific research, and increase the amount of right-wing Christianity in the US government as much as they can. And that just what there is skimming the Wikipedia article. In 2017 Trump started his term with some clumsy executive orders, many of which were immediately enjoined/overturned - in 2025 he will come in with prewritten executive orders with a much stronger legal standing that will be much more effective.
Trump put polarizing figures in his cabinet in “acting” roles because he couldn’t get them through the Senate (like Betsy DeVos who screwed over thousands of student loan borrowers and worked to take money out of public schools). He’ll do that again.
And while I agree there’s some things I’d like Biden to do that he isn’t, he and Trump aren’t remotely equivalent. Biden has gotten a huge amount of legislation passed for climate action, he’s forgiven student loans for 10s of thousands of people (many of whom were promised service-based loan forgiveness and then screwed over by DeVos).
You’re right that MAGA won’t go away. But Trump is a unique figure on the right, and one that is particularly dangerous right now. There isn’t one thing we can do to change the minds of his supporters, but every election we keep him out of power is 4 more years until all the Project 2025 shit can come true.
I've heard of Project 2025. It seems like the Democrats in office have not. Heck, just this morning, I read Jennifer Rubin's op-ed about how Sen. Durbin (chair of the Judiciary Committee) is so peeved he's almost on the verge of sending a Very Sternly Worded Letter about one of our Supreme Court justices being an insurrectionist.