It’s not a repeat. The GOP has had four years to plan and strategize. Trump and the wider GOP didn’t expect to win in 2020. The GOP didn’t know what to make of him. Now, they know how to cajole him, how to get him to do whatever, and they’ve had time to actually put down a map of what they want to do.

Trump may not know what he’s doing, but considering he’s likely going to let his Cabinet do most of the actual work like last time, I’m very, very worried. I’m even more worried if we wind up getting JD Vance instead after a year or so, because while Trump has at least one guiding star (money), JD Vance is utterly rudderless, willing to take direction from whoever is paying him at the moment.