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?

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.

68 responses to “GOOGLE: REPUBLIC”

neilmacdon

05/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  We follow where America leads, but it is some slight reassurance when we look across the pond that they still out do us!
  
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Tannille

05/04/2023

In all fairness, most politicians probably should be jailed…

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  It almost seems to be part of being a politician now – have to be involved in some sort of scandal or other.
  
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  1. Tannille
    
    07/04/2023
    
    They have no shame!
    
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Yamini Ali MacLean

05/04/2023

Hari OM
Right on the mark! YAM xx

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  Lol, not subtle, but then it’s not a subtle point I’m making! 🙂
  
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quiall

05/04/2023

Prophetic? My country is far too close…

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  Let’s hope not. My country is not far away from it either!
  
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rochellewisoff

05/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  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.
  
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trentpmcd

05/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  Yep, I have a similar thought about Great Britain over here, be much better as completely separate countries.
  
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James

05/04/2023

Oy.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  We’re just as bad over here. It’s a worldwide problem really!
  
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Liz H

05/04/2023

Ouch. <> Our worst and ongoing nightmare.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  Will it ever end?
  
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magickmermaid

05/04/2023

Spot on!

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  Thank you – let’s hope not though! 😉
  
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scr4pl80

05/04/2023

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.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  05/04/2023
  
  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?
  
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msjadeli

05/04/2023

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.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  06/04/2023
  
  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.
  
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  1. msjadeli
    
    06/04/2023
    
    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.
    
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  2. Iain Kelly
    
    07/04/2023
    
    I agree, but I can’t see a way that it can be fixed now, the divisions are entrenched.
    
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  3. msjadeli
    
    07/04/2023
    
    I see it as the greedy vs. the generous. Iain, we are going to need something BIG to shake us out of our entrenchment.
    
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msjadeli

05/04/2023

slap = slab

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Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden)

05/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  06/04/2023
  
  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?!
  
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theministryofshrawleywalks

05/04/2023

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!

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  06/04/2023
  
  Yep, same over here. Regardless of even any criminal charges – why would you vote for someone with this character?
  
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granonine

06/04/2023

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.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  06/04/2023
  
  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.
  
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  1. granonine
    
    06/04/2023
    
    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.
    
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  2. Iain Kelly
    
    06/04/2023
    
    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.
    
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  3. granonine
    
    06/04/2023
    
    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.
    
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  4. Iain Kelly
    
    07/04/2023
    
    Yes, all politicians left or right leave me in despair, on that we can agree!
    
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  5. granonine
    
    06/04/2023
    
    I stand corrected. Amazing to me that it does seem possible. Irony–an incarcerated felon cannot vote, but he CAN become President 🙂
    
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  6. Iain Kelly
    
    06/04/2023
    
    Yes, I thought that – surely a bit of an oversite in the law that needs corrected! 🙂
    
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creatingahome

06/04/2023

Interesting take on the propmt Iain.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  06/04/2023
  
  Thanks
  
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Alicia Jamtaas

06/04/2023

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.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  06/04/2023
  
  Yeah, you can’t ignore, even if it’s just looking on in horror!
  
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  1. Alicia Jamtaas
    
    06/04/2023
    
    Always horror.
    
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Keith’s Ramblings

06/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  06/04/2023
  
  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!
  
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athling2001

06/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  07/04/2023
  
  Fingers crossed it stays fiction!
  
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Nobbinmaug

06/04/2023

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.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  07/04/2023
  
  There is that feeling of watching the death of a country, there doesn’t seem to be anyway to heal the divisions now
  
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  1. Nobbinmaug
    
    07/04/2023
    
    It’s the opposite. Divisions seem to be spreading, going global instead of healing.
    
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plaridel

06/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  07/04/2023
  
  That’s the trouble isn’t it – we sort of need them, but they’re useless!
  
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Laurie Bell

06/04/2023

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.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  07/04/2023
  
  No the last decade or so has been an absolute disaster!
  
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CGraith

07/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  07/04/2023
  
  Thank you 🙂
  
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Susanne

07/04/2023

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

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  07/04/2023
  
  A smart man, if only he was still around.
  
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mjlstories

07/04/2023

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.

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1. Iain Kelly
  
  07/04/2023
  
  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.
  
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GHLearner

07/04/2023

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.

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poetisatinta

07/04/2023

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

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Dawn M. Miller

07/04/2023

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

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David Stewart

08/04/2023

Well, here’s hoping this stays fiction. 🙂

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Liam

08/04/2023

Bummer.

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thisobscurelife

08/04/2023

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.

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britcanwrites

10/04/2023

What a sad state of affairs … SMH.

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