They certainly accelerated things, but the fact is, people had every single opportunity at the ballot box to choose better and failed to do so. There were no tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue. This was not a coup. Getting to this point happened because enough of the populace were complicit. I'm glad you're also a recovering American, but the people who are left have to really consider when they say "This isn't us." No, it isn't you, but as a whole country? This might be "us", and it's time to seriously consider the company they're keeping.

At this point? I think one of the first political discussions I had with my father was that the US legal and democratic system are broken beyond repair and have been for decades now. It took Trump's ideocracy to make it painfully obvious.

Arguably I think many countries have arrived or will be arriving at the threshhold of functionality. So far the only two remedies that history provides are revolution or utter capitulation after losing a war. Let's hope we find another less violent yet systematically equally disruptive solution. I for one cling to the believe that there's still hope.