But that’s specious. I write philosophically not instrumentally, which means I try to tell the truth, regardless of the consequences. The truth is that Trump’s success in life is so astounding that it warrants a special explanation—and I’m not talking just about the fact that this clown was president, but that he’s escaped justice for decades. The best explanation is that the American liberal establishment is indeed deeply flawed.

The kind of positive thinking you’re advocating is like Hillary Clinton’s centrist, head-in-the-sand political correctness that got Trump elected in 2016. She didn’t level with Americans, like I attempt to level with my readers in everything I write. She pretended the establishment was doing just fine because, of course, she’s part of it, and her husband helped build it in the 1990s.

The problem isn’t just Trump. It’s Trumpism, or the likelihood of an authoritarian backlash in America because of the palpable failures of liberalism. Can liberals avoid that backlash without reckoning with some dark truths? I doubt it. Biden’s attempted to course-correct by focussing on how American democracy is on the line in 2024. Alas, he has little gravitas because he’s too old.

If Trump manages to win in 2024 and makes the court cases against him go away, he will indeed seem like a god. So why not scare the shit out of liberals now with the truth about the challenge they face, rather than underestimating Trump again and pretending everything’s going smoothly for Democrats? The fact that Trump’s even a viable contender for the GOP nomination, let alone a shoo-in, is already a sign that the country’s slipping away.

I’m not a fatalist, but that doesn’t mean I think we should falsify reality with lame positive thinking.