The world has always had its Donald Trumps.

[Cyrano]

Brutal conquerors, sadistic dictators, malicious tribe leaders, cruel emperors, mad kings, fuhrers, "Dear Leaders," and whatever else they called themselves, all wanted total power, and more often than not, they got it. And they then used it to do anything they wanted to do. And, depending on the historical era, their "leadership" always resulted in thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of deaths.

Virtually all historic dictators had one or more specific skills/talents that let them attain or keep power. Some of them were probably bugshit insane, but they possessed the knack and knowledge of how to maintain their power over the masses. Some of these despots were talented military men. Some had exceptional organizational skills. A few were natural and charismatic leaders that others willingly followed. Others inherited their positions of power, but were schooled in the use of fear and terror to keep the peasants in line. But what they all had in common was their savagery and their willingness to do whatever was necessary to hold onto power.

But, it seems to me that Donald Trump is unique. Yes, he has the required cruelty and brutality. But he is uneducated, incurious, lazy, and incredibly stupid. And as much as he may believe he's in charge, he has always been surrounded by people who knew how to manipulate him and steer his ego and cruelty toward achieving their own ends that usually coincided with his.

During his occupancy of the White House, most of those around him were really shitty human beings, but most seemed to have a line they wouldn't cross. If he wins/steals the election this November, those who can control him for the most part, (The Federalist Society, various billionaires, etc.), will see that he's surrounded by ruthless people who will do what he (or they) tell them to do. And thus, democracy won't die with a bang. It will die with a whimper.

Most despots of the past didn't have nuclear weapons at hand. And if they did, they weren't crazy enough to use them. Trump, however is a different kind of creature. And regardless of his handlers behind the scenes, he would still be the person who could issue the orders to nuke some country that had pissed him off for some minor reason. Hell, he could wake up one morning and decide to nuke San Francisco, believing it to be the LGBTQ "Capital of the World." (After all, if a president has "total immunity," why not?)

Would humanity survive an angrier, more deranged Donald Trump if he comes to power again? And even if he didn't use nuclear weapons, his winning/stealing the election means that American democracy would end on January 20th, 2025.