Similar things have been said before, but - assuming he loses - there’s a chance that Trump’s presidency is actually the thing that saves us from American fascism. It’s pretty clear that the GOP and their media arm has been gradually setting the stage for an anti-democratic takeover, but Trump’s narcissism forced their hand early and poorly. As a result, we’ve been made aware of previously-underestimated swamp monsters (e.g., social media cults-on-demand, GOP rank-and-file apparently being pro-fascism) that otherwise might not have surfaced until too late to stop.
If we can swing this election and then leverage it into solidifying majority power while electing increasingly-progressive candidates, there is an opportunity here to lock the GOP out of power until they’re forced to realign more centrally - meanwhile providing us a window to actually improve things. But if - instead of Trump - the GOP made their power play behind some 110 IQ charismatic ex-military sociopath, we might be instead staring at decades of Putinesque fascism.
All that said, please don’t let off the gas at all, now or after the election. We need to slam dunk a victory hard enough to break the backboard, then spend the next four years pushing Biden left while constantly reminding those around us that the GOP is a democracy-ending, child-torturing hate cult. If we win, we’ll all enjoy a huge pressure release and a temptation to relax, but staying energized is key. Because a Biden victory buys those of us with privilege another 4+ years of status quo, but we’re still sitting on a burning planet filled with billions in pain - and we owe it to all of them not to stop fighting just because we’re no longer so acutely on the defensive.
P.S. Fuck Trump.