What Happens When Trump Dies?

Everything depends on the timing, of course.

If he can hold out, say, another five years, that might give his Farce-Fascist regime enough time to stabilize itself, after the Götterdämmerung of the 2024 election, the first few months of the Terror, the vast expansion of the prison and concentration camp system, and the unfair and unfree 2026 Congressional elections cement MAGA control of all three branches of the federal government, along with most state governments. It goes without saying that the Vice President will be a nonentity, chosen for his gray inability to contradict Trump on anything, so a vicious power struggle is likely to ensue at the top, replete with mysterious car accidents and disappearances. A lot of bigwigs and hangers-on who imagined themselves untouchable are going to be dragged off screaming to CoreCivic-run “facilities” in the Sonoran Desert, or Alaska. But the regime will muddle through just fine, the same way the Soviet Union did during the power struggles that followed Lenin’s death, and Stalin’s. It can’t expect the kind of longevity the Bolshevik brain-eaters attained, but that’s a problem for another day.

If, however, the Orange Messiah keels over on the ninth hole at the height of the Troubles in early 2025, the results could be disastrous for MAGA’s grip on power. A serious bid to restore the ancien regime of the 1789 Constitution, as amended and corrupted, cannot be ruled out, and the likely outcome is nationwide chaos and disintegration.

Most unpredictable of all is what may happen if the lingering effects of the severe case of COVID he contracted in October 2020 catch up with him sooner, and he literally croaks in front of thousands of his devoted marks at a MAGA rally between now and the summer of ‘24. Can the “movement” continue without a “charismatic” leader like him? Replacing him won’t be easy for Steve Bannon or the other crackpot masterminds. There is no ready-made successor waiting in the wings, no matter how many “woke corporations” Ron DeSantis tries to pillage or how many women Greg Abbott sends to Death Row for having abortions. The other prospects are even worse. Marjorie Taylor Greene is batshit enough, but rumor has it that she’s a woman; Madison Cawthorn and Matt Gaetz have too many liabilities (driving on a revoked license and underage prostitutes, for those keeping score) even for Trumpkins. Handicapping the various personalities is a fun exercise, but ultimately fruitless. All we can say for certain is that there is no heir apparent, certainly not within the family. Donald Jr. is a pale copy of Dear Old Dad, and none of the others actually has a public persona to speak of. Without its ringmaster, the whole MAGA circus may leave town as quickly as the Tea Party of blessed memory.

However, as the Very Stable Genius himself once said, he didn’t start the fires burning America down, he only threw jet fuel all over the flames. (I may be paraphrasing.) The modern GOP’s obsessive drive to get and retain power at all costs, the will of the voters be damned, will continue unabated, and the rage of the racists and woman-haters and gay-bashers and trans-baiters will not easily be contained, let alone extinguished. The “white evangelicals” will still be on their jihad for Jesus, Trump Justices Handmaid, Beer, and Nonesuch will rule the Supreme Court until Judgment Day, and the Democrats will continue to pander half-heartedly to Silicon Valley between bouts of self-loathing and self-destruction. In brief, the decline and fall of America will continue apace, no matter when and how Trump meets his richly deserved fate.