The United States' 2024 presidential election is less than a week away, and countless national and battleground state polls released in late October are indicating that the race continues to be a toss-up. Republican former President Donald Trump is slightly ahead in some polls, while Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is slightly ahead in others.
Democratic strategist James Carville and conservative attorney George Conway have expressed confidence that Harris will win, while election law expert Rick Hasen believes the election is a "coin flip" and could go either way on Tuesday, November 5.
The Bulwark has been warning that if Trump wins, his second term could get ugly right away. And journalist Andrew Egger, in an article published by the conservative website on October 29, candidly lays out some likely things to expect if Harris loses and Trump returns to the White House on January 20, 2025.
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Egger warns that during Trump's first 100 days in office, his agenda could include trying to use the military against protesters, carrying out mass deportations, firing special counsel Jack Smith from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and using a second Trump DOJ against his enemies.
"Going after Hunter Biden has lost some of its appeal," Egger explains. "But there's always the likes of Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff, whom Trump has suggested deserve to face 'televised military tribunals' for treason. Wisely, Trump has set himself up with a win-win situation here: He can either order investigations against these longstanding foes, or — flushed with the grace of victory — he can say he isn’t going to do that, prompting a new round of chin-stroking from the credulous press: Is today the day Donald Trump finally decided to act presidential?"
Egger notes that according to Trump's Schedule F and The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, the federal government "is in for some serious disruption in Trump's first 100 days."
"All this is obviously an exercise in speculation," Egger argues. "The opening period of a second Trump term would be an insanely turbulent time, and we don't know what we don't know. But Trump has been explicit about what he plans to do, and very little of what we've discussed here will rely on anyone else's approval or permission — at least in the short term. As the New York Times put it the other day: We would do well to believe him."
Andrew Egger's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.