What's your plan if Trump wins in November?
What's your plan if Trump wins in November?
I'm feeling so uneasy with everything I've been seeing. I keep thinking about what we will be this time next year, and if shit hits the fan, what is your plan? I'm queer and was politically active in 2020, so I would potentially be considered a political enemy.
The only blueprint I can think of is what you do in an active shooter situation; Flee, Hide, Fight.
I know there's that romantic notion of "don't be a coward, get out and protest", but I remember the brutality of the 2020 protests firsthand, and even then I thought "thank god I'm going toe to toe with the CPD and not the CCP". Next time is going to be different. The president now has authority to send drone strikes. Protests and riots don't stand a chance agains missiles and live rounds.
Flee- I have an Uncle in Montreal who my family could potentially use as a way to at least temporarily escape the chaos. The hope I'd have is that Canada and other countries would accept American refugees, however that's not a guarantee.
Hide- If borders are closed, lay low and move away from major cities if possible. If civil war breaks out, try to get away from the violence even if you think your side will win. Todays losers may be tomorrows victors.
Fight- If cellular data/ social media algorithms can keep track of you, and surveillance can make sure there's no movement, this would be the last resort of desperation. I guess if possible try to either find a group for safety in numbers, or conversely go guerrilla as groups of resistance would make easy targets.
Sorry my mind is running and I'm getting scared.
“On Tyranny” has some great guidance on this, as well as some guidance on how to do what you can to help put the brakes on it happening.
TL;DR there’s quite a lot more, but stay off the internet, get used to making small talk, making eye contact. Know who’s in your community physically and who has your back. Renew your passport, make friends in other countries if you can. Make friends. Stay off the internet.
Canada will not accept US citizens as refugees unless things really goes to hell, we're not even accepting refugees who come from other countries via the USA as they're supposed to ask for refugee status in the first of the two country they step in. So yeah, don't get your hopes up, Canada isn't a consolation prize for you guys, fix your own shit.
We are pretty much screwed any way you slice it. Make sure you’ve got a trusted network of people, make sure you’ve got your passport renewed. Make sure you’ve got some coins stashed away.
But also, get into local government. Go to a city meeting. It sounds dumb but if you’re not involved then you’re not informed and have no power. A lot of cities have the power of ordinances that can make life less hellish.
Look up climate feedback loops cause we’re already over the edge on that crap. Ain’t nothing to be done except start living underground.
A better question would be what are you going to do to make sure the orange Mussolini doesn't win?
Make sure you, your friends, and your family are Registered to vote.
Make sure everyone you know gets to the polls on our before election day.
Become a poll worker.
We need to make sure we vote in numbers too big to steal. In 2000 the election was handed to Bush by the Supreme Court because of one state. Looking at the last term, the court would absolutely find a way to shift the election to the con in chief if it was just one swing state with irregularities.
Talk to people about project 2025 and what it will mean. This is how the guardrails from 2017 are removed. This is how we start a Christian theocracy. If we vote blue all the way down, the Dems may be able to put stronger rails in place. If it's not Project 2025 it will be Project 2029. These conservative think tanks have been doing this since Reagan, but this is by far the scariest.
Talk to friends and family about the Biden administration wins. It's not just Biden you're voting for, it is a continuation of his administration.
- CHIPS and science act bringing an entire industry back home. This will make us competitive with China and boat domestic manufacturing.
- Inflation reduction act an investment in renewable and traditional energy.
- Biden has actually increased fossil fuel production which has kept energy prices low and curbed the post pandemic inflation. Record oil production SPR management
- What Has Biden Accomplished? Look at These 10 Metrics, Not the Polls
Bottom line, this is likely the most important election of many of our lives. All of us must participate.
Don't underestimate the US military, as an ally. They are primarily younger, and the upper echelons are educated and all take their oath very seriously, to defend the Constitution, from enemies foreign and domestic. Of course there will be factions that will stick to Trump, like certain national guards, but that will fracture command and weaken our ability to react internationally. The military understand those implications, the potential literal end of the world. In the end, they push the button, not the president. The lower ranks have no desire to fight American civilians either, it's antithetical to everything they are taught, and the age range is generally people in their 20's and 30's.I trust a Marine, a soldier, an airman, a seaman heheh, coast guard too, oh and the spacemen, way more than a cop, to do the right thing.
A vet.
As a non American living outside of the US; I'm much more concerned about a second Trump term.
The first one was mostly just annoying, funny and embarrassing for you guys.
This time he'll be taking over with war in Europe and the whole Israel/Gaza thing. There is quite a lot of damage he can do...
As someone who might be targeted and killed as this drags on, I'm not really worrying about it much. Control whatever you can, be aware obviously, but what more could you possibly do? Monday's ruling is already in the past - I mean to say that we've already made our choices, long ago (some people have seen this coming for nearly a decade now), and all that is left is to live (or whatever) with them. It "helps" that climate change awaits to kill us all regardless of who wins the next election. To be clear, no I do not say that lightly.
Hypothetical illustration: let's say that you are a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Do you jump forward? Backwards? Remain still? Duck? Jump straight up vertically into the air as high as you can? Once in this position, no matter what you do there are risks, and your choices are limited, with the outcome of your decisions mostly not up to you. Side-note: you could maybe not have jumped out straight in front of a speeding car... but that choice is behind you now, and you can only deal with what is, not what you wish had been.
So don't panic unduly - that isn't helpful - just focus on doing the next correct thing, and the rest... well, isn't up to you.
You guys make this sound like some kind of doomsday movie.
I'm not downplaying how bad things are, but if you really have the several thousand dollars you'd need to actually uproot your entire life just sitting around, good for you. Most people don't have that kind of free money.
And good luck moving if you have pets, or have family members you care for. Have you guys even been to your "target" countries? Do you have plans for how you'll make income? How does healthcare work in your target country?
If you have all that figured out, and have nothing to leave behind, then good for you, I really do hope you end up better off. But this panicked response of "What are you waiting for, run!!!!!" is way more entitled than people seem to think.
Stay and vote. The way I see it, Canada is fucked if PP wins anyways, and will be hurt by Trump regardless. Europe is fucked if the alt right wins in France and hobbles Germany in the next couple elections. Nigel Farage is going to parasitically eat the conservatives from the inside out in the UK. Trump will pull put of NATO, which means war on Europe's doorstep and probably all of south east Asia if China decides they don't mind war.
Running isn't going to work. Voting and protesting and political action is what will keep us all at peace and ever vigilant against populism and later, fascism. All hope isn't lost. We still can undo the damage and categorically reject hate and corruption that is threatening democracies worldwide (and already dooming authoritarian countries with massive population gaps and economic damage)
Hey. We got through the last trump presidency. If it happens, we'll fight like hell to protect the ones who are most vulnerable, and we'll figure it out. Personally I am still hopeful that it won't happen. We all need to vote and not get complacent, but this panic is good, electorally speaking. One reason Clinton lost in 2016 was that a lot of people didnt take trump's chances of winning seriously. Biden's polling low right now because leftists are mad at him (and rightly so). But as the election starts to ratchet up more and more, we'll hopefully see people fall in line on at least keeping Trump out of office.
I hate it, personally. I hate that we get government-induced anxiety every election year, just to get people to vote the way they should. All this attention on Trump and Project 2025 is meant to force the undecideds to choose where they stand. If you've already decided how you'll be voting in November, take a break for your own mental health. Last election cycle I made myself crazy listening to political podcasts, checking 538, analysing polling data. I can't do it this year, so I'm trying not to get too deep into it.
Whether you're left, right, or center, focus on becoming ungovernable.
If you build up your local community and supporting institutions, and commit to ignoring unjust laws, you can greatly minimize the degree to which anything at the federal level impacts you.
This involves a lot of self sufficiency and privacy efforts that many are resistent to because of the loss of convenience, but it is well worth it.
I’ve been saving for a down payment for a house for two years. It would appear my money is not wanted in the USA. I also have dual EU citizenship. My plan is to improve my spoken German and take my family overseas.
As an atheist married to a Salvadoran woman with whom I have two hispanic children, I feel like after they run out of illegal immigrants we’ll not be far down the “committing suicide with two bullets to the back of the head” list. Or maybe we’ll just get sent to a camp that treats ADHD if you catch my drift.
I visited Germany in 2022 and was very impressed with the walkable/bikeable infrastructure and ICE trains even if they were late on occasion. The food wasn’t my favorite but the culture and people were kind and they still seem to value rule of law and societal decorum to a certain degree. The idea that making a nazi salute in public is jailable/fineable is really how it should be everywhere but “free speech” yadda yadda…
I have wanted to leave the US since 2003. Just didn’t have skills or money until now. I’m still going to struggle with a language barrier and finding a job with A2 level German. That’s my biggest issue right now I think.
My mom moved to the US not knowing English. How the turntables have turned.
My kids both have autism and higher needs. I also have this population of clients. I can’t just uproot, honestly. Sit back and have a drink. Continue to teach the kids skills for stay-at-home careers and maintain a low profile.
Do you really think anyone competent will work for Trump? The first time around he tried to deport dreamers, didn't end the program the right way, and they didn't get deported for his entire term. He would sometimes forget to sign bills he had photo ops with. He lead a group of rioters to the capital, told them where the electoral votes were, and they ended up taking selfies and Nancy Pelosi's podium. And these were his intelligent supporters.
I have, because of my father, dual citizenship with the UK and now that Labour has gotten in, I feel like that's a legitimate way out, so I am expediting getting a UK passport.
Due to a technicality of the sort that their bureaucracy will hate, I also have the possibility of German citizenship. I'd much rather have the ability to live and work in the EU, so I'll probably start working on that when I get to the UK.
My daughter is queer, I'm Jewish and (although this may not sound like a problem to some of you, I suggest researching it) my wife is a librarian, so I want an exit plan.
You escape BEFORE the regime change. You do not wait to escape.
It was evident that this was the path the US chose in 2008 election vitriol and then 2012 with the tea party. Then in 2016 Trump, it was as blatant as can be. You've had 8 years to plan and leave. You now have 6 months.
Make sure you have a passport. You should have been trying to obtain secondary citizenship. Even with all the money and education, you are only allowed to stay in a foreign country on a residency visa. Americans call theirs a green card for example. It is tied to your passport. When your passport expires, OR IS CANCELLED, then all the visas tied to it are also affected. In some places you can stay as you transfer your visa to your new passport. Some places you cannot, you must exit and re-enter. If your passport is invalid, you can only exit back to the USA if you are only American. The cancelled part is the scary part because the USA already does this. If you don't pay your taxes, or child support or if you have a warrant or even probable cause against you the US will cancel your passport. It's the easiest way to force Americans back home for prosecution.
Your #1 goal should be starting to obtain citizenship elsewhere. If you have grandparents from Europe, see if you can get it. You have relatives in Canada, mayve you can get it. If you can't, then start looking to buy citizenship or residency with a path to citizenship. This is 6 figures and can be instant like Vanuatu or take years like most of Europe. But again, better to start now.
As the Chinese routinely say, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time, is now.
The US is vast and it's unlikely to devolve into anarchy. It may get very violent and bloody or it may become more like a governmental issue where you just get locked up if you're bad. In that case storing some of your stuff in a storage area isn't too risky. If it goes into anarchy, then it'll be lost. Otherwise just keep paying and avoid.
I believe we're looking right at 1930's Germany. The parallels are uncanny. Those who survived, left. Those that waited until they were being rounded up to leave, mostly did not make it. And they lost everything they had and their families ever had.
I completed my move out 4 years ago now. I can now eat popcorn and watch the US implode from the other side of the world. I will lose some money, some possessions, and unimportant things. But my keepsakes and most of my assets are now free of the US.
Brace for an absolute clusterfuck that will undoubtedly be even worse than last time and be ready for anything to the best of my ability. I'm a straight white guy so I guess I likely wouldn't be targeted directly but I have friends and colleagues who would be a great risk.
If America is lost, I don't know that anywhere would really be safe from the fallout, so go vote this November because if you don't, it might be the last time America gets to vote.
I'd like to try to assuage your fears regarding a protest meeting missiles or drone strikes. Yes, the President can order drone strikes with impunity. It's been that way since the first use of drones, early as the Obama era (maybe earlier, but I was a bit young then).
However, this does not apply to US soil. One of the benefits of state sovereignty is that federal armed forces can't operate on US soil. National guard gets involved, at the governor's request, but they don't have missiles or drones. Police are barbaric, but they also don't have missiles or drones.
So I don't think we'd see much of an escalation in terms of weapons of violence with regards to protests when compared to 2020.
I'm applying ASAP to renaturalize in Europe. My ancestors survived by leaving shit hole countries when it was obvious they were going to start wars and become fascists, I'll follow suit. Fuck this place. Wish I started the process sooner.
Let's just say I bought a large cargo trailer, that admittedly serves multiple purposes, but one of those is for emergency scenarios.
If things get really bad, my wife and I have careers that makes going to Canada or Germany or Norway somewhat viable.
I'm not having my family go down with the ship. Let them sink. I have far more responsibility to my kids than to my country. Like the brain-drain on Nazi Germany or Russia as of late, I'll have no problem going and enriching another nation with more sane people. (with recognition there is some degree of crazy everywhere).
What's so sad is that the ignorance that is perpetuating this modern absurdity and making someone like Trump viable in the first place is so deep that even if things come crashing down, they'll be too stupid to point the finger at the actual problem.
I'll keep on keeping on.
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have your passport and any other docs in order now, if you're making all these contingencies.
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make more objective and less speculative assessments.
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find ways to enjoy yourself family and friends now. And build relationships and support systems with people you know and people in your community. Lines of communication and a habit of community work will help alleviate your doomy outlook for now, and help you build a network when it's time to respond to a bad situation, if one arises.
Stay constructive. Everyone has a plan til they get punched in the mouth, so if you aren't trained in combat or conflict theory, you should just keep assessing your current situation, and if you want to get out, if you truly believe Montreal is a more comfortable place for you, then go ahead now, why wait, it sounds very nice. Though I would appreciate it if you're here to vote to help our chances of correcting the illegitimate court system.
Anyway always ask yourself, "what is the best possible thing I can do right now?".
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You should be scared but try not to feel hopeless that won't help anyone. I'm honestly shocked at how little people have been freaking out. Especially the news media, I don't see how a free press survives a second Trump administration. That's what really concerns me the seeming apathy.
I'm hoping that come November the election will go well, and we won't have to worry about it as much. (As well as possible given the choices)
My family and I are going to be overseas when the transition happens and if we might not return depending on what happens. We're going to be visiting family in a country where my spouse qualifies for citizenship ship so I feek like that's in our favor.
If shit goes south and it was just me, I would probably stay but I've got kids to worry about and I won't feel bad for a second about keeping them safe.
I'm trying to think what's going through the heads of maga nazis right now. Is it "yay, we're about to enjoy years of prosperity when we're no longer competing with liberals and nerodigervents for employment"? Is it "yay, they're going to get rid of all the people we hate and that's all we care about"? Or is it "fuck me everything is still going to suck ass because of some other reason".
Continue not living in the US. I got out in 2015. It does mean, however, that unless one of my parents is in serious trouble, I'm not setting foot in that country for the duration.
I'm lucky enough to have some security, so my plan is lay low and where I can play safehouse for the folks that need it, I'm not a fighter, but I have what I need and a little more, and I can use that to help whoever needs it.
I've got ideas for what the post crisis should look like, so probably try to find ways to network with the folks who are likely to be making that transition once this inevitably burns itself out.
Meantime, vote. Vote like your life depends on it because the odds are that you know someone who's life does.
Time is our shield, and even if it's only another four years, it's four more years the windbag has to survive into his 80s to take another crack at it, by which time the crop of Dem governors are going to be making enough noise to be suitable replacements for Biden, and if he drops dead in that time, it is very likely the movement will be demoralized the same way JFK and RFK dying took the wind out of the Democrat's sails.
The Redcaps are a cult, when the prophet of a cult dies without an already established right hand who can take over and reconsolidate the movement, the whole thing collapses under its own weight and the shock and grief of its members.
They aren't gonna wake up to how wrong they've been, but they are gonna spiral hard and be unable to keep up the energy.
To be honest, I don't think Trump has the attention span to do any more than hold a bunch of gloating rallies. Ironically his own immunity may end up working against his desire for revenge, as some justice department lawyers will push back until Trump gets distracted by a squirrel or a coloring book or something.
That being said, I kinda dream of moving to Canada. Fun fact: the median Canadian wealth per capita is higher than in the US, meaning it may have a better claim to "land of opportunity" if we're talking about ordinary people instead of the richest few. Plus the people really do seem to be nicer. The mosquitoes though...Canadian mosquitoes are no joke.
Molotov cocktails 🍸
Keep saving until I can get a used car, so I can stop renting to drive Uber. After that, rapidly save up a buffer using the eliminated rental cost, and then get my second career started. Sales, I’m thinking. Lots of outside sales requires having one’s own car.
Hide my recent diagnosis of hypertension and return to the Motherland. I'd stay for the Civil War 2, but, honestly?
Fuck this place. Most of these fuckers don't even deserve Biden, much less a good candidate, lmao.
Nothing really. By then everyone in my household will hold dual-citizenship and be able to leave when they decide the situation has gotten unacceptable.
I won privilege bingo so me personally am in no danger, at least for the foreseeable future. Work in the infrastructure sector and plan to go down with the ship. You guys have fun with your civil war and genocides, I will keep the garbage and sewage at bay. At least until the secret police get to me and put a bullet in my brain.
I can't comprehend why there aren't people marching in the streets demanding a constitutional amendment to limit the executive branch and restore checks and balances. The recent Supreme Court decision granting absolute presidential immunity is a direct threat to our democracy. We all need to be more proactive. Government moves so slow if not pushed.
Nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure
No idea. Don't think I have the physical means to leave the country. I have in demand skills but I am so Far in debt I can't make financial arrangements and am considered a liability to due debts owed to foreign entities. I'm probably going to go back in the closet taking the hide option by retreating into a cist white het male shell and attempt to reclaim that privilege that may hopefully stop me from getting executed or put in a camp.
Just wait for them to come get me, I suppose
Start looking for jobs in Canada.
rampage
The same as if Biden wins. I don't think the office of president is going to meaningfully change my life. It did not the last 8 years either.
Either way we're headed to war, economic troubles, radicalism, etc. Biden and Trump are both stepping stones towards the authoritarian state capitalist system we have been cultivating for decades.
People are going to be fine as long as they do what every person in Latin America did under the military dictatorships supported by the US. Shut up, do your job, and don't make waves.
Don't worry, it can't last forever. These systems have a tendency of falling apart eventually. The next manifestation will be better. Just like WW2 had to happen to bring us our post-60s civil rights era society.
Join a John Brown Rifle Club.
Does your uncle have room for one more? I’ve been feeling very uneasy about things too. I really don’t know what I’m going to do yet if Trump wins, but even if he doesn’t by some miracle, I feel like we’ll just be in the same situation again in 2028, 2032, etc. I feel like the democrats are not effective at fixing things and the republicans have gotten very effective at breaking them. I don’t think it’s going to be civil war time if he wins, but I do think he’s going to really mess things up for everyone, especially those in blue states again and it’s going to be even more difficult to fix. I’m pretty fortunate to be where I am now in my life and I don’t think I can just uproot everything and move to another country. I also wouldn’t even know where to move other than maybe Canada, but I kinda also don’t want any country that elects Trump as a king to be my next-door neighbor either. I think I just have to keep my head down, keep going and hope things get better then keep voting to try to change things and hope enough people feel the same, but I’m really feeling like they don’t.
Nothing like 2016.
Gonna have to do a bit of immigration. Not sure if I'll have the option a few years from now.
Worry for my gf and all my friends who live in the states
Continue to work on plans for when the fascist shit fully infects Canada
I'll live here and help who I can. I plan to get into gardening a bit and support local farmers, the main problem isn't really trump but more how much fake bullshit the media is churning out and whether it actually manages to whip enough stupid scandals to cover for the complete corruption and incompetence of conservatives.
If it does turn into an insane fascist government, well if everyone took out exactly one fascist we'd run out of fascists very quick.
Wow i think anyone from LATAM would gladly take the place of anyone who wants to migrate to South America.
I might be old but I seem to recall the French taught the proper way to protest this kind of stuff, rather than the soft protests we saw in 2020, let alone 2016.
As for me, fortunately I live in tbe Best Hemisphere so I plan to offer whatever housing space I have available so my friends from the US can flee over and nap the Trump Kingdom over.
Gonna try to find a way to get to DC on Jan 20, get as close as I can to Fuckface 45, and kill myself.
I was thinking of laughing
I plan to feel sorry for them Americans. But only a little.
He obviously cannot under any circumstances be allowed to be sworn in.
On the one hand I've been thinking about leaving the country. I really don't think Canada is a safe move. Especially because it's the first thought for so many left wing Americans and it's so close. I also don't think it's inconceivable that a more dictitorual Trump ends up invading Canada...I've been thinking about trying to live in Vietnam myself... I figure if they can keep the USA out then international politics isn't something id have to worry about to much there. They're actual leftists and the money I have here should stretch even farther there to help the transition. I've also tried to talk a few friends into coming along with me if it goes bad we'll see how that works I'm going to try to get 15ish friends to agree hopefully at least a few will follow through.
The other side of my mind thinks that's extreme and doesn't want to leave. That side does think that getting some rice and beans one of those giant rechargeable batteries with solar panels is a good idea though.
Moving abroad.
Live abroad(I do this a lot anyway), apply for asylum internationally if civil war/ presidentially decreed assassinations are carried out
It's not going to be the end of the world, and it's not even going to be the end of the US. The next four years will likely unfold similarly to the previous four under Trump. Then there will be two new candidates: the Democratic one will be seen as equally incompetent as Biden, and the Republican candidate will be considered a Trump 2. We’ll be having this same discussion again, and again, and again…
Bro you need to chill
It's actually funny reading the hysteria online about the US elections. Sounds like whatever happens 50% of the US is going to have a meltdown.
Massive over exaggeration of course. Nothing is going to change in your lives. You'll live another four boring years doing exactly the same crappy stuff as normal.
I feel sorry for the people in Palestine and Ukraine and Taiwan who will genuinely be bricking themselves at being caught up in the geopolitical shit show of US foreign policy.
But for US citizens.... Nah. Your lives ain't going to change at all. Stay safe friends 👍.
Last week I was severely panicking. This week is different. I've just been getting stoned and mentally preparing for the inevitable.
Barring the one-in-a- million chance of a coronary finally killing the bastard, trump is going to win this election.
When that happens, and the fascists seize control, they will be faced with preparing for yhe biosphere collapse via climate change (they 100% know it's cooking), as well as ebay cpuld easily be the next superbug.
Covid was a sign of bugs to come, it was the first, but will not be an outlier.
And there's nothing the fascists can do to hand-wave biosphere collapse or superbugs away - not with their firm stance of burying their head in the sand about it. They know it's coming, but aren't minding it.
Only the 1% escape this scenario, the richest reiterated our society, by preparing their doomsday bunkers. The rest of us will eeke through society, and you can pick whichever post-apocalypse story you'd like to think will happen, it will probably be a mix of several. My money's on something like a realistic Fallout, but maybe that's just cuz it's fresh in my mind.
Buckle up. It doesn't get better from here. Relax and prepare while you still have time.
The world will not end no matter who wins, the things that are concerning would be wars the US could get involved in and maybe strife after the election no matter which side wins. But realistically if you dont get yourself involved then you will be just fine. Live your life without the doom and gloom, its the media getting clicks.
I think I'll kill my wife and children in a murder suicide
Move to the states
Well if the left hadnt gutted responsible gun ownership then maybe said guns could fulfill their primary purpose they where designated by the founding fathers. That being military power in the hands of a citizens militia to protect against the authoritarianism of the government.
"As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology." - Biden 2016
Oh i'm sorry. That was Trump.... (Right under the video) https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-says-he-s-fine-gay-marriage-60-minutes-interview-n683606
