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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Midterms and Donald Trump – the worst is yet to come

Nov 9, 2022 | 9:55 AM

AMERICANS WENT TO THE POLLS yesterday for midterm elections to choose all 435 House representatives, plus a bunch of Senators and governors.

In the strange and fascinating U.S. system of democracy, with its slow counts and run-offs, the full results won’t be known for a while.

Although the anticipated Republican red wave didn’t quite materialize it’s obvious the political landscape is as fractured as ever, if not more so.

Politics south of the border has become all about whose side you’re on, not about principles or the qualities of candidates. Scandals don’t matter anymore. As Donald Trump once bragged, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?”

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When people like TV doctor Mehmet Oz and football star Herschel Walker — the latter incumbered by scandals and an apparent inability to think straight — are serious contenders for public office, you know the country is in trouble.

Major issues ranged from inflation to abortion to election denial. The results may or may not stall President Joe Biden’s agenda but the real issue coming out of yesterday’s elections is Donald Trump.

Whether or not he had a major impact on the results is debatable. There is, however, another big shoe to drop. Trump has been offering major hints about a big announcement within a couple of weeks.

We all know what that’s about. The midterms were just an opening act for the Donald Trump circus.

The prospect of a return to the White House by this man is truly frightening. Another four years of the lies and erratic leadership that characterized his first term could be the death knell of rational American democracy.

The impact on our own country and the world order isn’t pleasant to contemplate.

The midterms, and the resurrection of Donald Trump, confirm the all-too-real possibility that — to turn a phrase from the Trump era on its head — the worst is yet to come.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.