The World After Trump

And what it might look like.

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In this post, I want to do something radical.

I want to talk about the world after Trump.

It’s hard to think about that world, because he’s been such a force in the lives of so many for the last decade, dominating headlines and fueling nightmares. But he doesn’t have much longer. Either through death or political upheaval, he’ll be gone. It’s hard to believe, but forces at the top have already started planning for that world, and we should also start planning for it, because it’s happening. It’s just a question of when, and what exactly it’s going to look like.

I’m not a political scientist, and maybe that’s a good thing. Most of the people we call “experts” have been wrong over and over again. Meanwhile, the “amateurs” and “dilettantes” have been right more than once.

Here’s my take:

Yes, MAGA has been turning on Trump.

No, not all of them. Many of them will stand by their king no matter what he does.

That’s a problem for the billionaires.

It’s a problem for investment giants like BlackRock. It’s a problem for Peter Thiel. It’s a problem for Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. It’s a problem for Sam Altman. It’s a problem for Alex Karp. It’s a problem for Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s a problem for the entire techno-broligarchy that got Trump elected.

They look at Trump, and they see a 79-year-old man in poor health, up to his neck in scandals. They also just don’t like dealing with him very much. (Would you?) He was a tool, a necessary one, and just about worn out.

So, it’s time to expedite their evil plans.

That’s what they’re doing. They’re proceeding with the worst parts of their plan, the ones that entail the most pain, suffering, and death. They’re doing it while they can get away with it. They’re doing it so they can hang it around the neck of an historically unpopular president, the one who couldn’t stop them now even if he wanted to, the one getting eaten by his own conspiracy theories. They’re working incredibly fast, have you noticed?

They have two years left to get it all done

Let’s say Trump leaves office in 2029, one way or another.

That gives the billionaires about 2.5 years to do pretty much whatever they want. Do you think they’re going to squander that time?

They’re proceeding to dismantle our government, first with DOGE and now with a series of catastrophic shutdowns. They’re eliminating what’s left of our healthcare. They’re gutting everything. They’re building the concentration camps. They’re building the cop cities (like they’ve been doing the last several years). They’re building the surveillance infrastructure and the AI data centers. They’re moving forward with their wars and coups in Venezuela, in Cuba, in Iran, in Lebanon. They’re laying the groundwork to acquire Greenland. All of it carries disastrous consequences for us, but it’s making them even more unfathomably wealthy than ever. They don’t care what it does to the rest of the world.

Will keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed drive more inflation? Will it spark shortages and famines? They’re counting on it. They already said they want the world to starve while they hide in their bunkers, didn’t they?

This war expedites the timeline.

As for the Epstein files:

It’s tempting to think things are spiraling out of their control, and that it will save us from fascism. But ask yourself a few questions.

Who lit the Epstein fuse?

Go back and confirm. Nobody was really talking about Epstein anymore until about halfway through 2025. Were they? Then it started gaining traction in blogs, newsletters, podcasts. Now it’s all over the mainstream news.

The avalanche started all the way back in early June, when a bitter Elon Musk packed his bags and left D.C. He offered up excuses, but essentially, his work was done. If nothing else, he was just tired. It was time to refocus on his empire. He just had to accomplish one last goal:

Start wedging Tump apart from his base.

So Musk engineered a feud with the king, over the details of the big beautiful bill. Trump took the bait and started insulting Musk on his familiar posting sprees. Then Musk dropped the bomb. He told everyone that “Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.” It really wasn’t a bombshell revelation. Was it? Journalists have already made Trump’s ties to Epstein abundantly clear. Nobody cared much anymore, until suddenly the richest man in the world gave everyone permission to say what they knew.

And while we’ve learned all kinds of new details about Epstein and his network, the contours of it remain the same.

So ask yourself:

Why would the billionaires who own the vast majority of our media be letting us all talk about the Epstein files, but not other things? Why would they be letting us criticize the Iran war at all? Is it possible that continuing to talk about Trump’s Epstein ties, while continuing to let Trump hang himself with disastrous economic and foreign policy, all has an ulterior motive?

Maybe the billionaires don’t want Trump to seek a third term. Maybe they don’t even want him to think about it. They heard him giggle about it, float it during a few interviews, and they decided to head him off at the pass.

That’s plausible.

After all, he’s 79 years old. He’s in poor health. He’s also extremely unpleasant to deal with. He delivered twice already. Maybe they want someone else. From their perspective, it makes total sense to start plotting Trump’s downfall, and making the space to insert someone like JD Vance.

The billionaires are done with MAGA

It’s highly possible that the billionaires are using MAGA Republicans to execute a round of real dirty work, like the Iran War. Nobody wants to take responsibility for that mess, even if it ultimately advances their goals.

So, use MAGA, then throw them away.

Meanwhile, they’re working on both sides. They’re positioning JD Vance to take over, but that’s not all they’re doing. That would be foolish. It’s highly possible that this mess tarnishes the entire Republican party, for years to come. It’s possible that Vance can’t distance himself enough from the regime.

After all, Kamala Harris couldn’t…

So, they’re also finding a neoliberal, billionaire-friendly alternative like Gavin Newsom and positioning him as the “obvious” choice as a Democratic candidate in 2028. With someone like Newsom, it doesn’t matter if MAGA Republicans crash and burn. It doesn’t matter if they can rig elections. Under Newsom, billionaires still get most of what they want anyway.

The billionaires know that MAGA might’ve run its course. MAGA voters probably won’t embrace Vance the same way. He just doesn’t have the mojo. That’s how cults work. They tend to unravel after their leader dies.

They know they can’t replace Trump.

They’re not trying.

So, what does the world look like after Trump?

There’s a happier version of the future, and maybe I’ll write about that next. But we need to talk about the risk of the likely future.

Here’s what I see:

The Middle East lies in ruins, along with our energy infrastructure. Sure, there’s a silver lining in there, a chance to build something less destructive. But that depends on us all putting aside our differences and cooperating. If I painted that future, just as many of you would assail my naive optimism.

So, let’s look at the bleak version:

Massive suffering afflicts the world, from famines and super droughts to things we can’t imagine. Everyone blames Trump, who is either dead or living in exile like Richard Nixon. Israel has concluded their wars and genocide. They now dominate the region, unopposed, if somewhat depleted. Iran, having put up a noble fight, no longer poses a threat. Not just because of war. Don’t forget that they’ve been hollowed out by their own climate catastrophes.

So, the techno-bureaucracy uses Trump to destroy the world, which was already falling apart slowly. They dump all the blame on him. They bring in someone like Vance. But honestly, even Gavin Newsom will do.

They’ll get to rebuild the world in their image. It’s going to be full of crypto cities and robot girlfriends. The vast majority of the public will sigh with relief, because at least it’s better than what they were living through, endless death and destruction. They’ll be so traumatized, they won’t resist.

That’s one version of what the world could look like. And while we’re all sitting around talking about the Epstein files and praying for the end of Trump, that’s what the billionaires are planning for.

Just my thoughts on a Friday afternoon.