'Dark times ahead': Analyst makes prediction about Trump's 'escalating attacks'

An analyst warns that President Donald Trump will "escalate attacks" on democracy to maximize damage after Republican election day losses, signaling there are "dark times ahead."

In commentary published Wednesday from Salon's Chauncey Devega, the writer examines Trump's response to election gains by Democrats, "which Trump credited to the GOP being blamed for the shutdown, the question is how he and MAGA Republicans will fight back."

Devega points to commentary from leading voting rights attorney Marc Elias on the Democracy Watch podcast who "warned of dark times ahead."

“The morning after the election,” Elias said, “you have Donald Trump talking about the filibuster, and what does he say? They need to get rid of the filibuster in his view so they can enact voter ID and other anti-voting measures."

“[T]his is a White House that understands that it lost big, that the American people are not with them,” Elias said. “And so it’s going to have to double down and triple down on voter suppression and election subversion if it’s to have a chance in 2026.”

Trump doesn't plan on listening to what Americans are saying, the writer adds. He has other ideas in mind.

"Trump and MAGA Republicans are largely unresponsive to public opinion. They are anti-majoritarian, embracing policies — such as tariffs and allowing health care premiums to skyrocket — that most Americans reject. If anything, after last week’s defeats at the polls, they are likely to escalate their attacks on American democracy because they have reasonably concluded that, with the 2026 midterms approaching, the window of maximum opportunity and leverage may be closing," Devega writes.

And while some have referred to Trump as a lame duck president, he's not showing signs of slowing down yet. What's notable, the writer explains, are the different ways he could lash out.

"...Trump is amplifying his threats to use the Insurrection Act to invoke de facto martial law and order the military to invade Democratic-led cities. In such a scenario, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that elections could be suspended," Devega writes.

His ultimate goal could be to outlaw any opposition to his party — especially ahead of upcoming elections — and make a move "nothing short of an attempt to criminalize free speech and opposition."

"Trump is preparing an executive order to restrict mail-in voting and require voters IDs as part of a larger plan to further limit the franchise and ensure that Democratic voters are not able to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights," Devega explains. "On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to a Mississippi law that allowed counting of mail-in ballots received after Election Day, which has the potential to overturn similar measures in dozens of other states ahead of the midterms."