By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 03/09/2026What if post-Trump America is even *worse*? 1/ 20592251
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 03/09/2026If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: pluralistic.net/2026/09/03/b... 2/pluralistic.netPluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow – No trackers, no ads. Black type, white background. Privacy policy: we don't collect or retain any data at all ever period. 114325
Oden @odense.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Yes! I have been saying this for quite a while (even before the bsky post below, in fact). Not enough people have internalised this! Whatever comes next *could* be much worse. bsky.app/profile/oden...Oden@odense.bsky.socialThings can always get worse. Not enough people understand this. They think this must be the bottom; finally, the end. Please understand: it can always get worse than this. I firmly believe that some day things will get better, but in the meantime: things can get much, much worse. Stay diligent! 030
James Clossick @jamesclossick.bsky.social · 03/09/2026If so, it’ll be worse because of him. He started the trend of flouting the law, lying persistently and cheating at elections. 000
Kurt Weldon @kurtweldon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026My wife thinks this ends with Trump. I keep telling her his backers will still be there. 140
Hellishchildren @hellishchildren.bsky.social · 03/09/2026June 26, 2025 archive.ph/f0Cp1 Douthat: I think you would prefer the human race to endure, right? Thiel: Uh —— Douthat: You’re hesitating. Thiel: Well, I don’t know. I would — I would —— Douthat: This is a long hesitation! Douthat: Should the human race survive? Thiel: Yes.nytimes.comOpinion | Peter Thiel and the Antichrist (Published 2025)The original tech right power player on A.I., Mars and immortality.By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.netThese people don't necessarily care if civilization or even the human race persists if they can't get their way. The thought of *them* running around with "weapons of mass destruction" ratcheted up the half-century of stark nuclear terror that had preceded the USSR's collapse to new heights. 26/ 0174
acebojangles.bsky.social @acebojangles.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I think you're generally correct and America is the problem. We elected Trump twice. We wanted and deserve Trump. But on the other hand, I think a lot of people get their information from social media and Trump thrives in that environment. Not sure there are any other Republicans as good at it. 010
wheelyweb 🇨🇦🇮🇹🇦🇺 @wheelyweb.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Stop focussing on Donny. It’s really not about him at all. It’s all about the Nationalist “Christians“pretending it’s their country. He’s just the willing fool to progress it all for money. 000
rivi999-999🖤🏴🏳️🌈🇨🇦🇬🇱🇨🇵🇨🇰🇪🇺🇳🇱 🇺🇦🇮🇪🇪🇸🪠🐧🐝😺🔥🔥🇪🇺🔥🔥🔥🔥 @rivi999-999.bsky.social · 03/09/2026post-apocalypse Apocalypse? 030
Quinn Norton @quinn.yoyodyne-it.eu · 03/09/2026If so, it will probably fall apart and enter a second civil war. 050
logic or it didn't happen @antifunkaf.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Long live the post-American internet 000
larsentown.bsky.social @larsentown.bsky.social · 07/09/2026So, are these guys planning something a takeover? Could they use their insanely over-leveraged position in the economy to extract a concession from the government, giving them control in exchange for not destroying the global economy? Is that too paranoid at this point? 100
Mike St. Clair @mikestclair.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Oh shit here we go. Love and respect and appreciate you, Cory. 040
N.N. Scott @nnscott.com · 03/09/2026A good essay, thanks. Only two points come to mind, not counters but reflections: Until relatively recently the USA has functioned, adequately enough, as in effect a far more authoritarian system than it is now. Also, unlike most countries, in the USA the states still possess significant autonomy. 130
John Brown’s Body @jbrownsbody.bsky.social · 03/09/2026The fact that no one wants to face is that America will remain fundamentally unlivable for decades to come, and the demons that have been awoken aren’t going anywhere.John Brown’s Body@jbrownsbody.bsky.socialAmerica isn’t worth celebrating. These are just some of the ways this country is becoming irreparably worse.theguardian.comUS civic health rating downgraded after year of ‘restrictive‘ Trump actionsCivicus, a non-profit that monitors global civic freedoms, moved the US from the ‘narrowed’ to ‘obstructed’ category 13214
