Sportswriters like to make predictions. We like to prognosticate. I learned these were dangerous paths long ago — it was the night in December 1997 when Peyton Manning’s Heisman Trophy was given to Charles Woodson — and I’ve generally stuck to reporting and analysis ever since. But I like to consider what I (or you) might have predicted when Donald J. Trump took the oath of office for his second term as president on January 20, 2025.
Looking into our crystal ball on that seismic day: “Over the next 13 months, thousands of Americans will be deported without seeing a courtroom … Canada will be offered statehood (a 51st star on the flag?) … A Democrat will be assassinated in Minnesota … A Republican will be assassinated in Utah … The United States will bomb Iran … The United States will invade Venezuela (and kidnap its president) … The federal government will set a new record for longest shutdown … Greenland will be targeted for U.S. expansion (Greenland) … Two Americans will be shot and killed by immigration agents in Minnesota … The Kennedy Center will be shut down … and President Trump’s name will appear in the Epstein Files somewhere between 4,000 and one million times.” Had I offered this package of predictions to you, your response would reveal your position on the great American divide. On one side: But he’ll end eight wars! On the other: Is that all??
I love presidential history, foremost because studying the lives of our past presidents — be he a Lincoln or merely an Arthur — is a great way to gain entry into the times of those presidents. And every term of every president has been distinctive, in part (large or small) because of the impact the leader himself made. Friends, the United States has never lived 13 months of “times” like the most recent. This doesn’t make our place in history worse or more painful than those who were alive at the outbreak of the Civil War or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But I’m here to tell you: We are living the most confusing time (so far) in American history.
And if you think the last 13 months were a crazed whirlwind, it wasn’t even an election year. As November approaches and American voters have the chance — we think, we hope — to correct some errors in Congress, President Trump and his band of powerful sycophants will be hammering away at the final nail in democracy’s coffin. If they are successful in making the 2026 midterms a charade for the autocracy, the ongoing confusion will at least subside a bit, as we’ll know King Trump is in place until mortality does its thing. “Nationalizing” elections? As recently as January 19, 2025, I would have shrugged and even chuckled at such a notion. It’s now part of the conversation, and a consideration for 50 secretaries of state charged with overseeing November’s election.
What the heck can we do? First of all, if you’re not registered to vote, register to vote. (Please, tell at least one person every week to register if they haven’t.) And do so now. The closer November gets, I predict, the more challenging the paperwork will become. Autocrats like fewer voters, not more. Secondly, become a name your congressman knows. Call or email with the same demand every time: “Keep President Trump away from my vote!” Third, contact your local election commission and ask for information. What’s being done to protect my vote this fall? What’s changed since the last time I voted? Autocrats don’t like sharing information. So demand information.
Bless the thousands of Americans who have taken to the streets — unpaid, to be clear — to peacefully protest this regime in the dead of winter. Imagine what we might see when spring and summer arrive. But here’s another thing about autocrats: They don’t care what the people prefer. Truly, the only power most of us will ever have in this democracy experiment is our vote. Protect yours. Keep Donald Trump’s grabby hands away from it. If you don’t, here’s a prediction: You’ll never vote again.
Frank Murtaugh is the managing editor of Memphis Magazine. He writes the columns “From My Seat” and “Tiger Blue” for the Flyer.