at this point i’m moreso banking on him kicking the bucket before he can do anymore horrific damage to this country and the maga civil war can begin
I hope not.
Trump's growing senility, being in a bubble, general ignorance to many things and even some altruism 'limit' his authoritarian ceiling, I think.
JD Vance as president does not have that.
He has a freaking brain. He's quite educated. He's smart like the devil, and way more scary TBH. He may not have Trump's party unity or much charisma, but he would inherit a lot of loyalty in the wake of the mourning.
I think the best case is for Trump to survive the term, but end it growing ill/senile, 'with a whimper, not a bang.' That would erode a lot of support without a clean transition or turning him into a martyr.
I hope he does well enough with 'right things for the wrong reasons' like going after Big Fast Food, Big Pharma, hopefully even Big Tech with a change of wind, just enough to dislodge Democrats and force a reformation of their party, but then the sheer weight of the damage hits the public in unignorable ways. I hope the needle gets threaded.