Next Tuesday, November 5, the citizens of the United States who are registered to vote will do so in what has been dubbed the most consequential election in American history — at least in our living, collective memories. I say registered to vote because only individuals who are citizens, whether by birth or naturalisation, can vote in an American election.

By this reference attention is also called to the sad reality that so many who can so vote do not register to do so, and many so registered do not bother to vote at all. This experience is not unique to America. In Jamaica, our democratic way of life suffers from this deficit. Many who can vote may speak very eloquently of their right to do so, but they often do not seem to realise that it is integral to responsible citizenship to do so.

Every election is consequential, but this year’s presidential election seems to be even more so. I believe that the country stands at a very decisive crossroads which, depending on who wins, will change the character of the country as we have known it in very fundamental ways.

If it is Vice-President Kamala Harris, one can expect the status quo to continue pretty much along the trajectory it has been going. She has promised to move away from the policies of President Joe Biden, vowing to introduce some new economic and social policies to illustrate her intention. Her new middle-class tax policies, along with preserving and even enhancing the gains of the present Administration in terms of infrastructure and health care, will not radically alter the present status quo. Neither will restoring the benefits of reproductive health care under Roe V. Wade. There will be a greater sense of stability in the US and the world.

The consequential nature of the elections does not turn so much on what Harris will do as it does on what her competitor, Donald Trump, will. Her campaign is seen by many, both in the USA and the world, as “normal”. It fits into the mould of what elections have been in America; the losing side accepts the loss, graciously calls his or her competitor to concede, and then arrange for an orderly transfer of power. As the entire world knows, this tradition was shattered on January 6, 2021 when Trump, refusing to accept that he had lost the election, incited a mob to march on the Congress to prevent the traditional and uneventful counting of the Electoral College votes. He has since embarked on a campaign of lies and innuendoes to undermine the democratic processes in the country.

Trump has created a lot of firsts since becoming president, none of which is commendatory. He became the first president to be impeached twice and in a first term. He is the first president who has received three nominations from his party to run as president. Thus, he is the only former president who has been on a continuous election binge ever since he left office. He is the first president not to accept the outcome of a presidential election even though the courts and other bodies have deemed it a fair electoral process. He is the first to have incited a mob to violently prevent the certification of the Electoral College votes. This is tantamount to a coup against the republic. His civil and criminal indictments in which he was found by a jury of his peers — in one of them to be a felon — is among the most damning firsts for any US president.

Furthermore, he is the first ex-president and nominee for his party who has openly advocated that he will be a dictator from day one. He is the first to openly vow retribution against his perceived enemies, especially those within, such as Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi for whom he seems to have a special disdain. These two have stuck like an unwanted fish bone in his throat.

Where Trump is concerned, there are obviously many Americans who entertain the nostalgia of a past that never was; who believe in the verities of his first Administration, and who really believe that he was a transformational president who altered their lives for good. Nostalgia is good, but when it is rooted in lies, disinformation, and unreality it can exercise a tragic and even tyrannical hold over the minds of those who hold on to it. In the end, it becomes injurious to one’s health.

No one should have no doubt about what a Trump second term would like. If he wins he will use his transition to put in place the worst features of Project 25, the blueprint that he will use to govern the country. In fact, he might begin to behave as if he is already the president. You may think this far-fetched, but this is a man who by word and deed has demonstrated what he is capable of. He is not bound by the trammels of the protocols of good governance. Once inaugurated, on day one as he has trumpeted, the dictatorship begins.

It is my strong belief that what we will see is what I have described as executive orders on steroids. Expect him to sign a great number of these, which I believe are already being prepared for his signature. The intent of this will be to roll back many regulations under the Environment Protection Agency and institute other measures that will radically transform the texture of the civil service. In fact, he will gain another first as the first president to sign the most executive orders in the first 100 days of office.

As his minions carry out his wishes to transform the government, expect to see a rampant abuse of his pardon powers. As they skirt the borders of the law and actually intrude across it, Trump can and, in my view, will pardon them. So, they would not have to fear because there will be a pardon waiting. Just do your jobs, however illegal it is, would be the mantra.

The authority to sign executive orders and issue pardons are the sole prerogatives of the president, which Trump will take delight in exercising. The Supreme Court has already given him an off ramp to do so as his actions would be easily interpreted as “official acts”. Yes, he can be stopped by the courts, but by the time his Administration is sued and these matters are adjudicated, a great deal of damage can already have been done with people losing their jobs and perhaps even their lives.

These and many others that cannot be contained in one single article, are the things which I believe will irrevocably change America for the worse under a second Trump term. There will be no pretence on his part to do anything that is remotely presidential in favour of the American people. In fact, I believe that Trump would be a mere ceremonial president, enjoying the powers that the constitution grants him, while allowing his minions, under the supervision of his vice-president, to dismantle the infrastructure of government to fit their new imperatives of “MAGAism.” This would include the role of the billionaires who are now supporting him.

For quite apart from what I have said above, his retribution agenda in dealing with his “enemies within” will be in full spate and occupy most his attention. So, too, will be his rounding up and detaining millions of so-called illegals. In a national dragnet of the type that Trump wants to conduct, a great deal of innocent people will be caught up in the dragnet.

The whole world, with the possible exception of countries under dictatorial control, look on with awe, fear, and consternation at how America seems to be sleepwalking into totalitarianism. They cannot understand the putrid nostalgia that drive millions to support him. Perhaps, as outsiders, they understand more of what the country faces than millions of Americans who, for one reason or another, are detached from the reality of what is unfurling in their own country.

November 5, 2024 will not only be a time for decision, but one which will determine whether America will ever remotely resemble what it was on November 4. The future is in the hands of the voters.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books: Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; The Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.