I’ve been going back and forth about this all day. On one hand, I think it’s obvious that Trump is a symptom of the right wing’s systemic slide into open authoritarianism, rather than its architect… but on the other hand, I don’t think his cult of personality would have long outlived him (especially if it turned out he was assassinated by a fellow right-winger over his ties to Epstein) and there’s not many figures on the right who would be able to reconstitute it quickly. On the other hand, I don’t think his cult members would go gentle into the night, and there would be ugly, violent reprisals. On the other hand, I fear there’s going to be violence no matter what, and it’s probably better for it to happen before the election than after for a host of reasons. But on the other hand, etc., etc…