Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has issued a dire warning to America about the prospects of a Trump resurgence. Full of fire and fury on Willie Geist’s Sunday Today, she cautioned that if President Donald Trump “or someone of his ilk were once again to be elected president — and if especially he had a Congress that would do his bidding, you will not recognize our country.” For fans of Clinton, this may be a portent of dark days; for conservatives, this could well be a message of Christmas cheer.

To borrow a phrase from the failed candidate’s husband: “It depends what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” In this case, it depends how well one recognizes the country in which they live.

The Times They Are a-Changin’

Donald Trump (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

For those who feel the nation has devolved into a morass of immorality, PC culture, welfare debt, and corporate cronyism — oft disguised as socialism-lite — the possibility of stripping away these features could well be an appealing prospect. But for Clinton’s home-team audience, it seems these are the very facets at risk if a Trumpesque figure regains the White House.

When The Donald won bigly in 2016, he was elected to remake the country. If the voting public had wanted more of the same, they would have opted for either the Democratic Party contender or one of the myriad establishment Republican hopefuls on offer. And if it were not for a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, Trump would most likely still be in the Oval Office crafting and recrafting policy that is the antithesis of the world Clinton envisages.

That America could be stripped back to a time when identity politics was not the overriding theme of all areas of life, from curricula to policy building, may be welcome news to those who feel the country has drifted too far into the progressive lane. If Hillary Clinton thinks the average guy and gal on the streets prefers her particular brand of scolding nannyism, this could perhaps explain why she herself has not had a bite of the presidential apple.

One woman’s warning is another woman’s Utopia.

A Tale of Two Countries

It is certainly not news that the nation is a divided place — whether that division runs left or right, red or blue, progressive or conservative. Each side’s ideals are anathema to the other’s. How well the Union fares over the next few election cycles depends a great deal on the politicos who define the state of play.

Clinton noted in her interview that “If [Trump] gets to do it again, I think that could be the end of our democracy, not to be too pointed about it, but I want people to understand that this is a make-or-break point.” Setting aside the sharp criticism of her former opponent, the woman-who-will-never-be-president is suggesting that the next election could be the end of the United States. Sadly, some folks actually believe what politicians say.

Should Trump — or “someone of his ilk” — win the White House in 2024, there will likely be a considerable number of voters who embrace Clinton’s hyperbole that the nation is doomed or beyond repair. What then do these folks do next? Do they vote? Do they engage in the democratic processes afforded by the nation’s founding documents? Or do they protest and destroy?

Hillary Clinton may well be correct that come the next election the United States will never be the same. But regardless of how it turns out, Clinton will bear at least a portion of that burden.

~ Read more from Mark Angelides.