A Post-Trump America is Coming – And Possibly a Double Civil War

There’s been a really wide gap since I’ve dropped any science on this blog, and for my readers, I do apologize, but over the last few months, something pretty significant has taken up most of my energy. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching the thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and tornadoes. In fact, I’ve been watching more closely than I ever have.

It’s no secret that dozens, if not hundreds, of pundits, commentators, and crystal ball engineers predicted just how bad Trump 2.0 would be, and he didn’t disappoint. If it wasn’t him siccing an army of federalized police on Black and Brown people, it was a series of idiotic tariffs that are causing far more harm than help to the economy.

And of course, the Big Ugly Bill, which at the very least will likely eliminate healthcare for millions of Americans, just because Donald Trump hates former President Barack Obama. I don’t even have to mention the chaos surrounding Trump and the Epstein files, which his sycophant cabal promised would be released, but are now hiding behind, even though he signed a bill to do that after Congressional pressure.  

Anyway, that’s just a partial list of why more and more Americans are nauseated by the notion that Trump is in charge of the country. It might seem crazy now, but this is exactly why we need to get ourselves ready for a post-Trump America.

So What Does That Look Like?

As bad as things have gotten, there are beginning to be signs that Trump’s iron fist hold on the government will turn out to be aluminum foil. First, because America is increasingly sick of his shit, on Election Day, there was a wave of Democrats sweeping into office (including a democratic socialist being elected mayor of New York), possibly a preview of what could happen in the 2026 midterm elections.

Second, because there is a defection of sorts by people we thought were unbreakable Trump loyalists. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized Trump for not releasing the Epstein files earlier, prompting him to label her a “traitor.” In a shocker, Greene announced her resignation from Congress on Nov. 21. Her reasons didn’t seem specific, but there were credible death threats being hurled at her. Meanwhile, Laura Loomer – a far-right conspiracy theorist who once seemed to have Trump’s nose open, now says the GOP is full of nazis (no surprise to liberals).

These aren’t isolated, either. There are numerous other signs of fissures in the MAGA camp that swept Trump to victory a year ago. The thinking was that after one chaotic term between 2017 and 2021 (including a deadly U.S. Capitol riot staged by his criminal supporters – who he pardoned, by the way), he’d return in 2025 after deposing Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden, who he also hates. He would then completely overrun the country based on the provisions of the modern-day Mein Kampf, Project 2025. But as Trump’s autocratic regime moved through the first year, it became clear that the Trump voters who sought to hurt people rather than help themselves really hurt themselves!

So that leaves us looking at the future. Anything could happen to Trump. If the unredacted Epstein files make their way to public eyes, Trump could either be so embarrassed by his proximity to Jeffrey Epstein, or malignable (if not indictable) because of any participation in his criminal antics, that he would be forced to resign. And while some people are speculating on him not even living to fill out his full second term, others say Section 4 of the 25th Amendment could be invoked because he’s not competent or capable of fulfilling his duties.

Or, he could just last until 2029, dusty and decrepit, with all of America hating him instead of just half. The point here is that one way or another, Trump is gonna be gone.

God Willing, But What’s Going to Happen?

Because of this, I think there’s a real possibility of something we wouldn’t have anticipated a while ago: two simultaneous political civil wars. What do I mean by this? Well, two civil wars would consist of four factions. These factions are already pretty active.

First, you’d have the Democrats and democratic socialists. Make no mistake, the latter is a growing political movement that will likely gain steam in 2026.

As I mentioned before, the new mayor of New York identifies this way, and the movement is a farther left, but not radical answer to the traditional Democratic Party, which many voters, especially younger ones, feel is an alternative to the same old ineffective politics that have left them in a country where less and less is affordable.

With their victory in New York, as well as an upset win in Seattle, and several other smaller wins in places like Atlanta, Detroit, and Milwaukee, and also several democratic socialists already in Congress, including  Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, they will probably add to their number and challenge the party establishment.

Chi Ossé, a popular New York city councilman representing Central Brooklyn, has filed to run against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. At the same time, Cameron Kasky, a Parkland, Fla., shooting survivor, is running in the crowded New York 12th Congressional District race. Aftyn Behn, a Democratic state rep in Tennessee, is looking to take that state’s 7th Congressional District. These are just a few of a number of rising political figures who are taking up the democratic socialist ideal in a country that, a generation ago, wouldn’t even utter that word. This could mean a 2026 primary fight, and if enough get elected, the battle between old school Dems and democratic socialists could go on for years.

But the second war should be monitored just as closely, if not moreso. Traditional Republicans, both conservative and moderate, are going to be increasingly following Greene and Loomer – although we never thought people with much sense would follow them. Those with an understanding of the risks would realize what is happening and separate themselves from the MAGA movement. Make no mistake, MAGA is not a restorative political movement; it is a cult, and that’s not just my opinion. This is based on how real researchers define a cult.

Now, MAGA is a problem of the GOP’s own making. It went from a slogan when Trump ran the first time to people mobilizing under it, to a real narrative and political infrastructure that took over the government. But it was also filled with everything from incompetent morons who think Trump is some kind of deity, to white supremacists and Christian nationalists who want to install a fascist, theocratic state that ignores the U.S. Constitution and feel that their biblical interpretation supersedes it. In the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, they already proved that violence is not only optional but a preference. As they took control of the GOP, they also proved they have no problem intimidating dissenters.

Traditional Republicans are now seeing that they have an option of fleeing a burning house, but it’s like a parent escaping a burning house set aflame by a wayward son whose drug use they ignored for too long. So the most extreme devotees of MAGA are the ones who listen fervently to podcasters and social media influencers (whose names will not be mentioned here), and because of their weak minds, they sink deeper into the cult quicksand.

It would not surprise me if these people begin to resort to more violence and domestic terrorism. Probably the best example I can think of this came 30 years ago, but would fit into MAGA nicely: the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. In this incident, Timothy McVeigh, someone radicalized into far-right violence, decided to kill 167 people, including children, because he thought it would be “patriotic.”

As political power changes hands in America, you can bet there is someone in the MAGA cult at least thinking about a similar act. This is a radiation leak that Republicans will have to figure out how to diffuse because it will impact the rest of us, not only politically but in every other way as well.

I don’t know the extent to which this double civil war would play out, but if it happens, it likely would begin next year and perhaps extend well into the 2030s and maybe as far into the future as 2040.

Right now it’s 2025. Back in 1925, we were in the Roaring 20s and did not anticipate that in just 15 short years, we’d be in the middle of World War II. There were extremists back then, too. In fact, the Ku Klux Klan was literally a major political force in America; politicians and law enforcement were powerful members. It deflated (although it didn’t disappear) because enough people with good sense turned against it.

We will see if that history will repeat itself, or if we will continue to repeat the same mistakes.

Madison Gray is a New York City-based writer and editor whose work has appeared in multiple publications globally. Reach out to him at madison@starkravingmadison.com.