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THE COLORADO CONSEQUENCES 2

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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Berkeley chapter.

So, I was right. Donald Trump was, in fact, let onto the ballot in both Maine and Colorado. As the American public heads to the polls, Trump’s felonies have never been less on the country’s mind. But in the few public appearances Trump has trudged out of his hotel room for, the former President has promised a lot, and I’m going to dissect exactly what a second term may mean for the country and our global community. 

To set the scene, I first wrote “The Colorado Consequences” on the sofa of my ex-boyfriend’s cozy flat on North Street during a stormy night in St Andrews. I’d spent the previous week racking my brain for topics on my article of the week, and I wisely decided that what the world really needed was a relatively ignorant Brit telling the world how stupid she thought SCOTUS was.

Naturally, I spent 700 words explaining in detail the many faults and failures that led a felon to be accepted on 48 out of 50 ballots for the upcoming presidential election. Yet somehow, what I said resonated — to this day, the article is my most-read piece on digital media. So, as a great journalist who always over-speaks on viral issues, I thought it was time to rehash the past as the election looms closer.

At a Friday night rally, Trump decided it would be a fantastic idea to tell “[his] beautiful Christians” that if they elect him successfully into the White House, “they won’t have to vote anymore.” NBC legal commentator Katie Phange helpfully translated the Trump-talk (although, I think for once, he’s being pretty clear-cut with his intentions), and said, “In other words, Trump won’t ever leave the White House if he gets re-elected.” 

But can this threat be trusted? Absolutely. Remember the Jan. 6 insurrection of the Capitol? Trump may not have fought tooth and nail to stay in his grandiose home, but he enlisted an army to do so on his behalf. I’m not a religious person, but I’d put a lot of faith in Trump to overstay his welcome (in really any context, I have a feeling he’d be a terrible party guest and be the person to Venmo request you the morning after for half the Uber). 

Let’s note that what he said may seem like a radical spewing, but is, in fact, part of a much larger conversation he’s been preaching since his first term in office. At one of his earlier rallies in December 2023, he exclaimed that he’d be a “dictator on day one.” Alas, fear not! He was only referring to day one of his theoretical second term. Only. And in a wider context, telling Christians that a vote for him would be the final vote becomes even worse. He’s repeatedly announced his admiration for (and friendships with) authoritarian leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, and Viktor Orbán. He was even reported to have said Adolf Hitler “did some good things” by a former White House aide. Clearly, he holds a few controversial figures in high regard. 

What all these signs point to is exactly what Trump has denied his involvement in, time and time again. Project 2025, a plan detailed by the Heritage Foundation to construct a Christian Society, involves the removal of the democratic vote based on a four-year term. The general media know what Trump most likely meant when he told Christians they could “stand back and stand by” — that he’d remove the liberal legislation devout Christians so passionately protest against.

But what we, the public, can all guess, is what he could have meant. Could he have meant that he’d pack SCOTUS with shed-loads of conservative (cough under-qualified cough) justices? Could he have meant that he’d remove the constitutionally mandated presidential two-term limit? Could he have meant that he’d remove the democratic vote entirely? When it comes to a man like Trump, anything’s possible. 

What one must remember as this country inches closer to the election is this: once a criminal, always a criminal. If the law, convention, and the Constitution didn’t matter when filling out his tax returns, a few words on a piece of paper won’t mean much to him when he’s in the most important job in the United States. Voters must treat him like he’s already won this election and throw at him the rule of law, for by the time he’s in office, it’ll be too late.

And if there’s one thing all sides can agree on, it’s that he’s never going to resign from office.

I’m going to end this piece repeating exactly what I said back in February, which shockingly, the U.S. didn’t listen to the first time. The consequences of giving Trump a blank cheque and a seat in the Oval Office will forever change the scope of the presidency. When combined with the recent SCOTUS decision to grant the president judicial immunity, the president becomes the most powerful job on our globe. We all have the opportunity to tell a wannabe dictator to bugger off. Let’s take it because if we don’t, “Trump’s legacy will continue to be felt for many decades to come.”

I'm a Junior exchange coming 7,000 miles across the pond from sunny St Andrews. I'll write about anything I'm given permission to, but most of all I love talking about all things linguistics. A.k.a. I will not be graduating here with any job prospects, but cheers to a career in academia irregardless!