Regardless of how it goes, it seems likely that 2020 is going to be an ugly election with tons of fukkery.
For one, they're expecting turnout to break records -
Brace for a Voter-Turnout Tsunami
Yet a lot of places are (and still will be) unprepared for that type of turnout.
Also seems like it'll be the most expensive one -
Why 2020 US Presidential Race Will Be Costliest in History
Then of course there will be the recent impeachment stuff in the background, Trump probably saying some inflammmatory/bigoted shyt at some point, possibly more Russian interference, possibly a recession hitting around that time....
It almost seems like 2020 is the perfect storm for things to come to a head in some way.
Plus there's this study that generally suggests that social unrest peaks every 50 years, and..
Will the US Really Experience a Violent Upheaval in 2020?
Keep in mind that that paper is from 2012, before Trump even ran.
For one, they're expecting turnout to break records -
Brace for a Voter-Turnout Tsunami
Yet a lot of places are (and still will be) unprepared for that type of turnout.
Also seems like it'll be the most expensive one -
Why 2020 US Presidential Race Will Be Costliest in History
Then of course there will be the recent impeachment stuff in the background, Trump probably saying some inflammmatory/bigoted shyt at some point, possibly more Russian interference, possibly a recession hitting around that time....

It almost seems like 2020 is the perfect storm for things to come to a head in some way.

Plus there's this study that generally suggests that social unrest peaks every 50 years, and..
Will the US Really Experience a Violent Upheaval in 2020?
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Circa 1870, the North fought the South in the Civil War. Half a century later, around 1920, worker unrest, racial tensions and anti-Communist sentiment caused another nationwide upsurge of violence. Then, 50 years later, the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement triggered a third peak in violent political, social and racial conflict. Fifty years after that will be 2020. If history continues to repeat itself, we can expect a violent upheaval in the United States in a few years.
Why 50-year cycles? Turchin explained that a surge of violence begins in the same way as a forest fire: explosively. After a period of escalation followed by sustained violence, citizens begin to "yearn for the return of stability and an end to fighting," he wrote in his paper. The prevailing social mood swings toward stifling the violence at all costs, and those who directly experienced the civil violence maintain the peace for about a human generation — 20 or 30 years. But the stability doesn't last.
Eventually, "the conflict-scarred generation dies off or retires, and a new cohort arises, people who did not experience the horrors of civil war and are not immunized against it. If the long-term social forces that brought about the first outbreak of internal hostilities are still operating, then the society will slide into the second civil war," he wrote. "As a result, periods of intense conflict tend to recur with a period of roughly two generations (40–60 years)."
Peaks occurred around 1870, 1920 and 1970. Confounding this pattern, there was no peak of U.S. violence in the 1820s. In fact, historians call it the "era of good feelings." Turchin explained that social variables such as wages and employment were "really excellent at that time, so there was no reason for any violence to get going." The cycle was skipped. [Do Recessions Increase Violent Crimes?]
But we might not be so lucky this time around. If Turchin's model is right, then the current polarization and inequality in American society will come to a head in 2020. "After the last eight years or so, notice how the discourse in our political class has become fragmented. It's really unprecedented for the last 100 years," he said. "So basically by all measures, there are social pressures for instability that are much worse than 50 years ago."
Keep in mind that that paper is from 2012, before Trump even ran.