Four Years of Stability. Four Years of Chaos.

The founders of the US Constitution actually predicted this vulnerability. In Federalist No. 10, James Madison warned that the greatest threat to a republic was “faction,” meaning a group of citizens becomes so consumed by a common passion that they destroy the permanent interests of the community. The founders deeply feared direct democracy because they knew it allowed charismatic demagogues to bypass institutional guardrails by appealing directly to public emotion. They would view the election of Donald Trump twice as a total failure of the checks and balances they designed.The core problem America faces today is structural instability. When Joe Biden was elected, the world treated Trump’s first term as a temporary aberration. The fact that Trump won a second term proves that every four years, the world now expects a potential Trump 2.0, or someone worse. Even if a reasonable President wins in 2028 and begins to restore international agreements, world leaders know that four years later, Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, Elon Musk, or Donald Trump Junior could take power and tear everything down again.In 2022, 83 percent of Canadians considered the United States a reliable partner. Today, only 35 percent do. Canadians now view China more favorably than the US.For those of you who did not vote for Donald Trump, you should put a Canadian flag on your luggage when you travel the world. If you did vote for Trump, was this what you expected?Let me know in the comments. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit quietcanines.substack.com/subscribe