What happens if we make a deal with the Trumpian devil to fight back against the illiberalism of the far left, and wait another four years to confront illiberalism on the right?

If Trump loses re-election, there is an opportunity for some soul-searching on the right, and for those of us who opposed him to say, “We told you so.” I’m not holding out very high hopes for how this will work out, but it will happen to some degree. If Trump wins re-election, by contrast, that would confirm the dominance of Trumpism among conservatives and complete the wholesale ejection of his critics from the right. The Republican Party will become even more fully his party than it is now.

Meanwhile, what happens to the Democratic Party if Biden loses? It would be the radicals and “Bernie bros” who would get to say, “We told you so,” and that would increase the chances of the radical left winning the 2024 nomination for their candidate. Bernie will be way too old by then—but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be eligible to run.

So wait four more years, and what do we get? A much more entrenched illiberal Trumpism in the Republican Party, and the likely prospect of a far more radically leftist candidate from the Democratic Party.