Continued from page 73


It seems every four years now, we worry over which candidate is a bigger threat to democracy. What’s driving this? One reason is the circumstances


around the 2016 election, when Hillary Clinton questioned the legitimacy of Donald Trump. Then in 2020, the tables were turned and Trump questioned the legitimacy of Biden. There’s more and more social media that can whip people up into a frenzy about allegations that an election or a particular state was stolen. It’s at an all-time high now. And I think the precedent set


by 2020 has emboldened a lot of Democrats to feel they should play not just defense, but should play some offense on these things. So if one side feels strongly that


the result was not on the up and up, there’s a potential for a crisis after the election. I hear from people on both the left and the right who express extreme concern about it. I tend to think, however, even


if there are allegations made or legitimate concerns expressed, that our system has the proper referees — including the attorney general of the United States, including the courts in both federal and state — to deal with anything that could mushroom into a crisis like that.


What are the leading indicators that in the remaining few days will tell us how this election is breaking? There are three things to focus on.


First, which of the battleground states are still in play and which are off the board now — and who is that giving the advantage to? Second is the gender gap. Is Trump


doing well enough with men to offset his deficit with women? And the third is we’ve seen that


October surprises are a real thing, not just fiction. So who is best prepared when something unexpected happens that threatens their chances?


put America on a path to long-term decline, and possibly social upheaval. The debate in bars and at sporting ven-


ues and dinner tables nationwide is over which candidate, and which party, repre- sents a greater existential threat to America. Newsmax columnist and author Dick


Morris, who anticipates a second Trump presidency being “even more transforma- tive” than the first, says he’s “very, very opti- mistic about the future of America” because he’s confident Trump will win, and then find a way to exorcise the demons that have trou- bled America ever since Biden took office. “I believe,” Morris says, “that when you


get past the current divisions, and the po- litical fads of the moment, our dominance in oil and our willingness to use it under Trump, as well as other factors, will propel the United States back into a position of be- ing the global superpower.” Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken


Blackwell, however, who played a key role on Trump’s transition team in 2016, isn’t nearly so bullish. As much as Republicans hold out hope


that the Trump era will have a lasting and transformative impact, Blackwell points out that it all hinges on capturing 270 Elec- toral College votes in November. “Donald Trump may well have changed


the political orientation and culture of the country,” Blackwell observes. “But it’s too early to say that will continue forward no matter what happens in November. We have to win.” A Trump defeat, he says, would also


likely bring a Democrat-controlled House. If that happens, and Democrats also gain a few seats in the Senate, “the existential threat to the republic will be real,” he warns. “It would leave its footprint on our


country for a long time,” says Blackwell. “At the end of the day, we will have at the top of our country, and in Congress, folks who have this immature, quixotic belief in collectivism. “They won’t see how foolish it is until


there is an economic collapse,” he warns. “And then the road back is going to be very steep indeed.”


74 NEWSMAX | OCTOBER 2024 Trump’s E


Firewall Democrats must win Pennsylvania. It’s not looking good.


arly in the 2024 race for the presidency, Democrat campaign


strategists identified Pennsylvania as part of a “blue wall” they could defend to beat Donald J. Trump and keep a Democrat in the Oval Ofice. Several leading indicators, however,


suggest Democrats face an uphill battle to keep the Keystone State in their column — and they probably can’t win without it. Among them: J.D. Vance Resonates. The culture


in rural Pennsylvania is not unlike that of rural Ohio. Analysts say Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance could draw rural Pennsylvania


WALZ/TOM WILLIAMS/CQ-ROLL CALL, INC VIA GETTY IMAGES / RFK JR/ ROY ROCHLIN/GETTY IMAGES / VANCE/ JEFF SWENSEN/GETTY IMAGES


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108