Iain Kelly

Fiction Writing

GOOGLE: REPUBLIC

Google Search: How did the United States of America Collapse?

The Short Answer:
The decline of the Republic began in the early 21st century. Corruption was rife in the halls of power. In 2024, the former president, Donald J. Trump, a convicted felon, was re-elected, defeating Democrat Joe Biden. This sparked the 2nd American Civil War, first between opposing political enemies and spreading to their supporters and the public. In 2026, the states of California and New York ceded from the Union, marking the beginning of violent confrontation.
Source: Wikipedia Read More

People Also Ask:
Why would people vote for a convicted criminal to become President?
Your search did not match any documents.

Suggestions:
Why is America such a deranged place?

Copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Written for Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).

To read more stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

‘The State Trilogy’ and ‘The Barra Boy’ available now.

Iain Kelly

, , ,
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

68 responses to “GOOGLE: REPUBLIC”

  1. neilmacdon Avatar
    neilmacdon

    Stinging political satire, Iain (though we should not forget our own naughty boy)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      We follow where America leads, but it is some slight reassurance when we look across the pond that they still out do us!

      Like

      Reply
  2. Tannille Avatar
    Tannille

    In all fairness, most politicians probably should be jailed…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      It almost seems to be part of being a politician now – have to be involved in some sort of scandal or other.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Tannille Avatar
        Tannille

        They have no shame!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Yamini Ali MacLean Avatar
    Yamini Ali MacLean

    Hari OM
    Right on the mark! YAM xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Lol, not subtle, but then it’s not a subtle point I’m making! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  4. quiall Avatar
    quiall

    Prophetic? My country is far too close…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Let’s hope not. My country is not far away from it either!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. rochellewisoff Avatar
    rochellewisoff

    Dear Iain,

    This sent chills up and down my spine. Sadly there’ve been previous politicians, if not past presidents who should’ve been indicted. (No, I’m not defending this one.) The state of affairs in my country shakes me to my core.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      We’re not far behind you over here Rochelle. Only after posting this did the husband of ex-Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon get arrested for fraud over political donations. Honestly hard to find any country that isn’t mired in corrupt leadership at the moment.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. trentpmcd Avatar
    trentpmcd

    There are times I think we (US) would be better as four or five separate countries, but hopefully without a Second Civil War!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Yep, I have a similar thought about Great Britain over here, be much better as completely separate countries.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  7. James Avatar
    James

    Oy.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      We’re just as bad over here. It’s a worldwide problem really!

      Like

      Reply
  8. Liz H Avatar
    Liz H

    Ouch. <> Our worst and ongoing nightmare.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Will it ever end?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  9. magickmermaid Avatar
    magickmermaid

    Spot on!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you – let’s hope not though! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. scr4pl80 Avatar
    scr4pl80

    At least I am in California. One wonders how people’s minds work if they think a convicted felon is going to do anything good for them. Not to mention the narcissism.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Exactly, the same as those over here who keep returning a Conservative government after 13 years of pain – why are people still voting for them?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. msjadeli Avatar
    msjadeli

    Good assessment of possible current events in a few years. If that straw-headed douchebag isn’t sitting in a spartan cell over these indictments, there is no telling what might happen. I heard on Colbert last night that his moronic minimizers are saying they are “minor felonies.” The definition of any felony includes a sentence of a minimum of one year in prison. Felonies are inherently serious (unless you’re talking drug felonies and these are not drug felonies.) 34 crimes where each one carries a sentence of a minimum of a year??? Even if he gets convicted of half and a wise judge has him serve them consecutively, his crusty ass will die on concrete slap in a cell. This joke has gone on far too long.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      It’s bizarre to me that having an affair with a porn star and paying hush money and making her sign an NDA – none of which is denied by anybody, it’s all out there – is not enough to make people think, hold on – maybe this guy isn’t the best person to be our president? It’s the same over here with Boris Johnson – regardless of any actual crimes, the character of the person should be plain enough by now.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. msjadeli Avatar
        msjadeli

        Iain, our country is drowning in selfish callousness at every level. I’m surprised babies don’t jump out of the womb smoking a cigar like James Cagney and trying to outdo the other newborns in the nursery. We are conditioned to consume and compete from birth, which breeds an atmosphere of anything goes, and those with the least ethics and who know how to play the game of evil best rise to the top. These top dogs are admired for their cunning not condemned. We are doomed if we don’t make an intrinsic shift away from consuming and competition as our idols.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Iain Kelly Avatar
        Iain Kelly

        I agree, but I can’t see a way that it can be fixed now, the divisions are entrenched.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. msjadeli Avatar
        msjadeli

        I see it as the greedy vs. the generous. Iain, we are going to need something BIG to shake us out of our entrenchment.

        Liked by 1 person

  12. msjadeli Avatar
    msjadeli

    slap = slab

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden) Avatar
    Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden)

    Enough people her in the United States are looking at gun violence and the Trump reaction to his indictment in horror, and wondering when the madness will end. Let’s hope our Republic can survive because I think a civil war could be a real possibility. Alana ramblinwitham

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      At some point surely people will come to their senses. The best hope at the moment is really his age – how much longer can he keep hanging around?!

      Like

      Reply
  14. theministryofshrawleywalks Avatar
    theministryofshrawleywalks

    That’s bang on point! Why on earth would anyone vote for such a man? The whole world is literally going insane. Good stuff, Nailed it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Yep, same over here. Regardless of even any criminal charges – why would you vote for someone with this character?

      Like

      Reply
  15. granonine Avatar
    granonine

    Keeping in mind that the head of a criminal family is now in charge of the Oval Office, one wonders how it can get any worse. Oh. Right. China. Russia. Nuclear war.

    Just a note: A convicted felon is barred by the US Constitution from being President.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Have to correct you there Linda – there is nothing in the constitution that bars a felon from running for President. It’s been widely reported over the past couple of days that even if convicted, Trump is free to run again.

      With regards Biden, ‘head of a criminal family’ sounds like the nonsense the Trump supporters and right-wing media are putting out to deflect from their own problems. Aside form a few minor charges, none of his family have been charged with anything remotely serious. That may change in the future, but nothing at the moment. And crucially, Biden himself has never been charged with anything. It’s just right-wing Trump fantasist drivel, frankly.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. granonine Avatar
        granonine

        We differ widely, as we already know. I’m going to research that bit about felons be qualifed to be President. And as for the Bidens, they are protected and supported by the news media that tells only one side of the story. I’m not a Trump fantasist. I just don’t think what we have no is any better.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Iain Kelly Avatar
        Iain Kelly

        But there must be someone better somewhere? I think the problem is it’s 2 80 year old men with a lifetime of baggage and not many fresh or harmonising ideas. Surely in all of the US, there must be a better option.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. granonine Avatar
        granonine

        Lots of people are hoping Ron DeSantis will run. The only Left wing person that I’ve heard seriously being considered is Gavin Newsome, Governor of California. THAT would be a disaster. Honestly? I have a deep distrust of all politicians these days. Biden has a hard time finding his way off the platform. I would just love to see a leader who doesn’t drool, and isn’t a braggart.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Iain Kelly Avatar
        Iain Kelly

        Yes, all politicians left or right leave me in despair, on that we can agree!

        Liked by 1 person

      5. granonine Avatar
        granonine

        I stand corrected. Amazing to me that it does seem possible. Irony–an incarcerated felon cannot vote, but he CAN become President 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Iain Kelly Avatar
        Iain Kelly

        Yes, I thought that – surely a bit of an oversite in the law that needs corrected! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  16. creatingahome Avatar
    creatingahome

    Interesting take on the propmt Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks

      Like

      Reply
  17. Alicia Jamtaas Avatar
    Alicia Jamtaas

    As a US citizen, I ask myself this daily. I try to steer clear of our Orange Man, but he’s like a train wreck you need to watch. Great take on the prompt, Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Yeah, you can’t ignore, even if it’s just looking on in horror!

      Like

      Reply
      1. Alicia Jamtaas Avatar
        Alicia Jamtaas

        Always horror.

        Liked by 1 person

  18. Keith's Ramblings Avatar
    Keith’s Ramblings

    Yet another MP suspended today. Soon a record of misdemeanours will be a requirement for any would-be politician.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Yep, up here Sturgeon is now mired in it and got out quick. It seems if you want to hide some scandal or corruption, becoming a politician is the way to go!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  19. athling2001 Avatar
    athling2001

    Well done. So much truth there sadly. Let’s hope things don’t go that far.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Fingers crossed it stays fiction!

      Like

      Reply
  20. Nobbinmaug Avatar
    Nobbinmaug

    Perfectly stated. It’s not often we can watch the fall of an empire in real-time. This is a scary time for world powers to falter.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      There is that feeling of watching the death of a country, there doesn’t seem to be anyway to heal the divisions now

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Nobbinmaug Avatar
        Nobbinmaug

        It’s the opposite. Divisions seem to be spreading, going global instead of healing.

        Like

  21. plaridel Avatar
    plaridel

    like they say, politicians: can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      That’s the trouble isn’t it – we sort of need them, but they’re useless!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  22. Laurie Bell Avatar
    Laurie Bell

    What scares me most is how this is a very real possibility. I write a lot of time travel future fiction and I sure wouldn’t pick this time to come back to.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      No the last decade or so has been an absolute disaster!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  23. CGraith Avatar
    CGraith

    You’re scaring me! That is the stuff of horror story! Love the format of how you shared your point.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  24. Susanne Avatar
    Susanne

    Lincoln said our democracy would withstand any force from outside and that our failure would be from within.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      A smart man, if only he was still around.

      Like

      Reply
  25. mjlstories Avatar
    mjlstories

    Things I ask myself during those insomniac hours…when did life and politics become so polarised? have those in authority got worse or have they always lied and it just didn’t come out so often? when did public service become personal aggrandisement or was that always part of the show? I hope this is a piece of fiction you’ve written here but it could well come to pass.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      All good questions. I think a bit of both. They were probably always a bit like this, but were at least civil and diplomatic, and social media and media coverage was never so toxic. Hard to see where it will end.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  26. GHLearner Avatar
    GHLearner

    I hear you. I bite my nails and hope almost every day that the American people come to their senses and not vote for that criminal again. I seriously hope that what worked with Al Capone works with that guy as well.
    The whole world is going crazy, democracies turn right-wing, racism is just as bad as ever and corruption blooms everywhere.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. poetisatinta Avatar
    poetisatinta

    Good one – I think a lot of politicians have a closet or two

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. Dawn M. Miller Avatar
    Dawn M. Miller

    This is not funny, its scary but still I laughed when I read “Your search did not match any documents”.
    Big sigh…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  29. David Stewart Avatar
    David Stewart

    Well, here’s hoping this stays fiction. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  30. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    Bummer.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  31. thisobscurelife Avatar
    thisobscurelife

    Reading this made me shudder. Mostly because it could happen here. I’m a native New Yorker currently living in another of the 50 states, not California, and wishing I could go back home! Although, if this prophecy comes true – NY Itself would probably split in two with parts of Long Island, Staten Island and upstate staunchly maga. Perhaps the northern border cities would try to form an alliance with Canada.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. britcanwrites Avatar
    britcanwrites

    What a sad state of affairs … SMH.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: