[graphic to be added]
The World Ahead: DeSantis, Wayne, and the Quiet War
An Alternate History Project
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2028
November - December
"...and with 92% of all votes counted, we can project that Republican Ron DeSantis has won the battleground state of North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes. And with that, it's over - CNN can now project that Republican Ron DeSantis, the former governor of Florida, has won the 2028 presidential election, defeating incumbent Democrat Kamala Harris in the closest election since 2016 ..."
Anderson Cooper; Excerpt from CNN's 2028 Election Night broadcast; November 8, 2028
HARRIS CONCEDES
In the early hours of November 8, President Kamala Harris would formally concede the 2028 presidential election to Republican nominee Ron DeSantis in an empassioned speech.
"The fight isn't over", Harris declared from her campaign headquarters in San Francisco. "We still have so much to do for equality. Justice. Fairness. The list goes on, and my greatest regret is that I cannot continue tackling them from the White House. But I know that millions across the country, from all walks of life, will carry on! Because that is what Americans do best - we fight for what's right, no matter the odds or the risks."
Harris would also congratulate President-elect DeSantis on his victory, calling for a "united front" in the wake of the close election. "Ron and I fought a brutal campaign, but it's time to move ahead. We need to focus on the world ahead, and all the crises that our country is facing now. I have confidence in his ability to serve America, and I have directed my White House staff to begin the transition process."
The New York Times; November 8, 2028
DESANTIS TRANSITION TEAM DEBATES CHINA STRATEGY
Just days after winning the White House, the DeSantis transition team is debating how best to handle the tiger in the room - U.S.-China relations. While DeSantis won on the back of tough-on-China posturing - notably pushing Asian-American voters 5 points to the right - his campaign rhetoric has run headfirst into political reality.
Some in his inner circle - such as [name] - have proposed a full decoupling from the Chinese economy. While zealous, many doubt that the U.S. would be able to decouple from China without major pushback. However, graudual decoupling has been floated by some politicians from both major parties, including Democratic governor of Illinois Bruce Wayne.
Other individuals - including Senate Minority Whip Joni Ernst - have proposed re-instating the Trump-era tariffs on Chinese manufacturers.
POLITICO; November 11, 2028
AMBASSADOR TRUMP? DESANTIS INTERVIEWS EX-FIRST SON
Political activist and former First Son Donald Trump Jr. had briefly formed an exploratory committee for a presidential bid in 2028 before formally withdrawing and endorsing Ron DeSantis. Now, sources within the Ron DeSantis transition team are reporting that the president-elect is considering Trump Jr. for Ambassador to the United Nations.
The President-elect invited Trump Jr. to Jacksonville (DeSantis' hometown), who made a very public display of his visit and their meeting, tweeting that he was "honored" to be in consideration for a "very serious job" in DeSantis' administration.
Some within DeSantis' team say that the process is merely to placate Trump Jr.'s ego and warm DeSantis to Trumpist voters that he had alienated, in large part due to former president Trump Sr.'s role in the Democratic overperformance in the 2022 midterm elections and the public split between the two after Trump Sr.'s defeat in the 2024 election.
CNN; November 19, 2028
RON DESANTIS NOMINATES PAUL M. NAKASONE AS DEFENSE SECRETARY
The Washington Post; November 23, 2028
[...]
Excerpt from HOLDING THE LINE: THE DESANTIS ADMINISTRATION by Robert Costa, published in 2014
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2028
U.S. Downballot Election Results
United States House elections, 2030
House composition before election: 223 Republicans, 212 Democrats
House composition after election: 230 Republicans, 201 Democrats, 1 Forward
Speaker before election: Andy Biggs (R-Arizona)
Speaker after election: Andy Biggs (R-Arizona)
Key United States Senate elections, 2028
Alaska (IRV, final round): Josh Revak (R) def. Josiah Patkotak (I/D), Sarah Palin (R), Les Gara (D), others
Arizona: Mark Kelly (D-inc.) def. Kimberly Yee (R)
Georgia (runoff): Raphael Warnock (D-inc.) def. Drew Ferguson (R)
Nevada: Joe Lombardo (R) def. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-inc.) (R+1)
New Hampshire: Chris Sununu (R) def. Maggie Hassan (D-inc.) (R+1)
North Carolina: Ted Budd (R-inc.) def. Wiley Nickel (D)
Ohio: J.D. Vance (R-inc.) def. Greg Landsman (D)
Pennsylvania: John Fetterman (D-inc.) def. Jason Ortitay (R)
Wisconsin: Mike Gallagher (R) def. Sara Rodriguez (D)
Senate composition before election: 51 Democrats, 49 Republicans
Senate composition after election: 51 Republicans, 49 Democrats
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2029
January - ???
Ron DeSantis, 48th President of the United States, delivers his inaugural address; January 20, 2029
DESANTIS GOES ON DEFENSE IN STATE OF THE UNION
POLITICO; May 11, 2029
OPINION: WITH SHUTTERING OF HKFP, REPRESSION CAMPAIGN IN HONG KONG REACHES FEVER PITCH
When the People's Liberation Army began its attempted annexation of Taiwan in June 2028, a series of small protests sprang up across Hong Kong, calling for an end to hostilities and for China to respect Taiwan's self-determination. While these were small and often dwarfed by government-sponsored demonstrations calling for the "restoration" of China's "historical borders", it gave many - including myself - hope that things were somewhat turning around in Hong Kong; that the government - while certainly authoritarian - was beginning to somewhat return to its 2010s-era tolerance of civil opposition.
Unfortunately, last week's events have completely disproven that notion.
For those of you unaware: on July 1 - the date which Hong Kong was returned to the People's Republic of China 32 years ago - Hong Kong police stormed the headquarters of the Hong Kong Free Press, one of the last-remaining "independent" media outlets in Hong Kong, and the only that was primarily English-based. Several journalists and activists were also detained (or in a few individuals' cases, re-detained) on spurious charges of "sedition" and "endangering national security" - ironically, these are predominantly colonial-era statutes. While the newspaper itself remains online (thanks to servers based in London and Vancouver), it seems that it is being systemically wiped off of the Hong Kong internet. As I write this, the newspaper's website has seemingly gone offline in Hong Kong, and I fear that this will be permanent.
Anyone with an uncompromised moral compass can see that this is yet another example of Beijing's flagrant violation of Hong Kong's promised autonomous status, but that isn't what I fear most. What scares me is the loss of a news outlet that plays the Hong Kong Free Press's role; namely, that of an independent, unbiased outlet that conveyed the facts on the ground in Hong Kong to the wider world in a common language. The South China Morning Post is an English publication, true, but it has been forced to tightly toe the Beijing line. And while servers are online, it will be increasingly difficult to report on affairs in Hong Kong when the publication is blocked from carrying out investigative journalism in the city itself. Without a source of accesible information, I fear that the wider world will forget about the threat the Chinese state poses to its own citizens, or worse still, be persuaded by Beijing that all is well in Hong Kong.
Because all is not well.
The Guardian; July 9, 2029
NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH: RECESSION HAS WORSENED SINCE JULY
The Wall Street Journal; October 8, 2029
BINANCE FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY AS UK MOVES TO BAN CRYPTO
The Economist; November 1, 2029
RNC SOUNDS ALARM AS DEMOCRATS SWEEP KEY OFF-YEAR CONTESTS
FiveThirtyEight; November 7, 2029
WELLS FARGO GOES BUST AS DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE FALLS BY 18.2%
Bloomberg; November 27, 2029
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2030
??? - November
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2030
U.S. Downballot Election Results
United States House elections, 2030
House composition before election: 230 Republicans, 201 Democrats, 1 Forward
House composition after election: 249 Democrats, 183 Republicans, 3 Forward
Speaker before election: Andy Biggs (R-Arizona)
Speaker after election: Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts)
Key United States Senate elections, 2030
Arizona: Ruben Gallego (D-inc.) def. Jack McCain (I), Wendy Rogers (R)
Florida: Francis X. Suarez (R) def. Anna Eskamati (D)
Florida (special): Cameron Kasky (D) def. Ivanka Trump (R-inc.) (D+(D+1)
Michigan: Mallory McMorrow (D-inc.) def. Adi Sathi (R)
Mississippi: Brandon Presley (D) def. Tate Reeves (R-inc.) (D+1)
Missouri: Jason Kander (D) def. Josh Hawley (R-inc.) (D+1)
Montana: Tom Winter (D) def. Braxton Mitchell (R) (D+1)
Nevada: Yvanna Cancela (D) def. Greg Hafen II (R)
Ohio: Sherrod Brown (D-inc.) def. Frank LaRose (R)
Pennsylvania: Josh Shapiro (D-inc.) def. Andrew Lewis (R)
Texas: Scott Kelly (D-inc.) def. Christi Craddick (R)
Utah: Ben McAdams (F) def. Sean Reyes (R), Katie Adams-Anderton (D) (F+1)
Wisconsin: Mandela Barnes (D) def. K. T. McFarland (R)
Senate composition before election: 51 Republicans, 49 Democrats
Senate composition after election: 53 Democrats, 46 Republicans, 1 Forward
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2031
March - August
"Today, I am officially running for president of the United States of America, because we need a president who cares about both Americas. The majority of Americans - the ones who work multiple jobs and break their backs just trying to pay their bills. These are the people Ron DeSantis' America has betrayed - an America where Wall Street defers to Beijing and factories are shuttered, while the Republican Party line their cronies' pockets with preferential treatment.
This is not an America we want for our children, and it is not an America that will survive long enough for that to happen.
This isn't about attacking any group of Americans based on some kind of dividing line - be it their race, their religion, or their background. This isn't about dividing our country but uniting it against a president who doesn't care about anything beyond his own power. This is about taking down a man who has imperiled generations. Fixing a system that ignores the plight of millions.
This is about making America great again."
Excerpt from Bruce Wayne (D-IL) announcing his 2032 presidential campaign; April 29, 2031
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Presidents of the United States of America:
46. Frm. Vice President Joe Biden (Democratic-DE)
'20 w. Sen. Kamala Harris (CA) def. Pres. Donald Trump / Vice Pres. Mike Pence (R)
'24 w. Vice Pres. Kamala Harris (CA) def. Frm. Pres. Donald Trump / Gov. Kristi Noem (R)
47. Vice President Kamala Harris (Democratic-CA)
May '27: assumed the presidency after the resignation of Pres. Joe Biden
Jul. '27 onwards w. Frm. Gov. Andy Beshear (KY)
48. Frm. Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican-FL)
'28 w. House Maj. Whip Elise Stefanik (NY) def. Pres. Kamala Harris / Vice Pres. Andy Beshear (D)
49. Governor Bruce Wayne (Democratic-IL)
'32 w. Frm. Gov. Katie Hobbs (AZ) def. Pres. Ron DeSantis / Vice Pres. Elise Stefanik (R)
With a lot of credit to
@Vidal for the format.