The virus being a range of sociopathic beliefs and behaviour justified as "conservatism".

Yes, but he's also the disease personified and amplified into a real life supervillain. And the world doesn't have a superhero to stop him.

BuzzFeed news is better than this. They break good news stories. Writers for the Economist tend to be experts at telling us things we already know, years later.

This "man" (and I use that term loosely) was already elected president and served a 4 year term. Everyone who paid the slightest attention knows what he's about.

Where is Rupert Murdoch? He should be very high up there.

Also Graham, DeSantis, Hawley, Tuberville, Barr, Comey-Barret, Kavanaugh, and basically anyone involved with the national-level GOP leadership. They’re all psychopaths.

Ask McCarthy how things work out when you welcome the crazies into the party and assume you can keep them in line.

And yes, I'm fully aware that McCarthy was one of "the crazies" back when the tea party was considered the extreme part of the GOP.

Eh. Rise of fascism is a pretty big deal. Not really an opinion thing either that is factually what he is. The republican party released a document outlining how they plan to implement fascism in the US government.

The problem with how to deal with Trump is that up until his “presidency” his predecessors had some level of respect for the office and its duties. There were lines you didn’t cross, lines that no one thought needed definition or outlined consequences because anyone that would achieve the office of president, elected by the people, could never treat the position so heinously and with such disregard and irreverence for everything and anything the office stands for. We’ve never had someone in charge with zero regard (and frankly probably very little understanding of it) for our system of government, the constitution, and how/why it was all created in the way it was. Enter Trump and we realize we don’t have the guidelines and practices in place to handle it, because no one had ever fathomed someone like him would be running the country. I’ve said since he ran the first time he’s the biggest threat to our democracy we’ve ever seen, at least that I’ve seen in my lifetime. He’s a cult leader (but that’s outside the scope of your question) and from outside the cult his influence is mind boggling. Also we’re never given 2 good candidates to choose from, it’s always whoever sucks less. And understandably people have serious concerns about voting for Biden for another 4 years.

I don’t think we have preventive measures in place so, yeah.

We do. It's called the constitution and whatever liberties we've installed.

The problem is the toothless actions that have been taken, to enforce these things. Too much bargaining, bypassing and bribing.

But if we give them a strongly worded letter or a warning or a caution - that'll get things done! That'll be like telling that child or pet not to do something even though you know they'll do it anyways and once they do it, you go "aw schucks!" before fixing the issue and cycling back again.

Man we've taken that trophy home every year for decades.

We've done that for 70 or 80 years. Like the saying goes, "do what you love, and you'll eventually become a global hegemon, weilding your influence like a club and keeping your boot on the neck of the majority of the planet, both economically and militarily."

Mom always said that.

He's an old fat idiot.

Hitler was a buffoon too, but still very dangerous. Trump will go for dictatorship and promises vengeance against his perceived enemies. An idiot with unchecked power is dangerous.

He's an old fat idiot.

Yes, but he's an idiot with a large group of cultlike followers. That's what makes him dangerous.

My brother in Christ, lots of people love him. Lots are morons.

Most important election ever and it's a rapist piece of shit vs a roomba.

That's the rub - drumft part deux will seal the deal on climate.

Last chance. Act now to stop this fucker.

He is backed (and controlled) by pootin.

Pootin is using social media to target impressionable idiots.

Said idiots raise the din of idiocy and drown out reason. Etc. Etc.

And yet... He's probably going to remain free, untouched, highly supported, and be on the ballot as a real contender for reelection. Something's not quite right with that picture.