you really think we won't have an election?
My guess is that the Dems will win the mid-terms and Trump will try to reverse the result similarly to 2020, claiming there was fraud.
Except now he and those around him are far more experienced with that sort of thing, and have fewer people who would object like Mike Pence and certain GOP elections officials.
I’m no lawyer or parliamentarian but probably the GOP will find a way to avoid seating the new Dem Congress. There will be outrage but if it spills into the streets, people will get shot.
Trump wanted to shoot protesters during the 2020 protests but was held back. Now there will only be people saying great idea.
Enthusiasm for protests will deflate once people start dying, and soon enough the whole thing will be shrugged off like everything else.
After that, Trump will realize that he doesn’t actually have to give up power, assuming he hasn’t already.
At that point, he will have to shut down the Republican primaries to keep the party lockstep behind him as he stays in power.
Whether that means canceling the 2028 election due to an „emergency” or due to the „fraud” in 2026 is anyone’s best guess, but it will be something along those lines.
Lawsuits will be filed but the Supreme Court will find a way to rule in Trump’s favor without officially approving his refusal to leave office.
For example, the Supreme Court will say that whoever files lawsuits against the canceled election lacks standing to bring it in court, or some other technicality.
The Supreme Court will say it is up to Congress to stop it with impeachment and removal, knowing full well that is never going to happen.
It will be a big news story for about a week, then people will turn their attention to Dancing with the Stars or NFL or whatever and shrug it off.
Life will go on more or less as normal, with perhaps more free speech restrictions at high levels of the media etc.
The shit won’t really hit the fan until 10-15 years from now when nature takes its course.
With the figurehead of Trump gone, GOP will turn on itself to see who will be the next dictator. Dems may see an opening to fight back. Different branches of the military could back different power centers.
That will be a doozy, but so be it. Again, I really hope this is my lame attempt at dystopian fiction. But I could easily see all the above happening.