Donald J. Trump will be forced to resign…

…Or be impeached, or even be assassinated (possibly even by his own people). And that should scare the crap out of every liberal in America.

The Trump alternatives are worse.

Even if none of those things happen, Trump has made it pretty clear he has neither an inclination for nor an interest in the details of his new job. He’s already said he plans to outsource much of it, to a core group of loyalists chosen for their early and slavish Trump support, not their qualifications for office. He needs adulation and constant reassurance, and these people will provide it to him.

Why be even more scared?

Because Trump’s #2 guy is Mike Pence, whom the alt.right white terrorists and the ultra-religious conservatives *love*.

I’d even go so far as to say that Donald J. Trump was always going to be someone’s patsy.

His children want a right-wing Kennedy dynasty, and will happily use him as a foundation stone.

The Democrats thought he’d be a wonderful toxic candidate against whom their nominee could steamroll with ease.

The Republicans realized early on they needed someone to reach Angry America, and Trump was handy through his birther/Tea Party connections. He could win. But he was never meant to stay in office. Under this scenario, Trump’s yuuuuge character flaws were an asset: sooner or later, he can be counted on to be forced aside, leaving the field for Pence and an authoritarian ultra-right Christian government. (This would probably have been John McCain’s fate, had he and Sarah Palin won in 2008.)

So I’d say watch Trump, sure, but spend some energy watching what Pence and Bannon have cooking in their political labs.

Update 1-15-2017: Since that post I (and most of the thinking populace) have been made aware of perhaps the biggest influence on Donald Trump’s actions: Vladimir Putin. Sure the jokes have been flying for months (years), but there are real conflicts of interest, data pointing to kompromat, and some close-to-treason actions by Trump & Co.

Why would Russia want to destabilize the US and the EU? Easy, it opens the playing field for their dreams of glory…if not very survival. Why would Trump play along? Other than his monstrous ego and whispering son-in-law telling him that Vlad Really Likes Him? Money. Trump’s overseas holdings are vast, and his entanglement with Russian oligarch already legendary. He can only be President for 8 years legally (under current law, look to the Watchmen movie for hints how that could play out). But he’s in this game for money and power, and he thinks an allegiance with Putin will extend that.

At great risk to the U.S. and the rest of the world, I must add.