Two things: first, that 30 to 40 percent of Americans think that it is perfectly OK to have a right-wing president who does whatever he pleases, with some as yet unknown, but probably large, percentage of them supporting the full Orban Option; and second, that our liberal democratic institutions are much more fragile than we thought. There are no mechanisms in place that will guarantee protection from a future Franco. In the final analysis, to the extent that the system survived, it was due to Trump’s narcissism, unpopularity, and laziness, and to the wisdom and courage of some civil servants and members of the judiciary, not to any paper checks and balances, let alone the Democratic Party.
So, all Biden has to do, if he is elected, is overcome what is left of the leadership of the GOP, prove to left-leaning millennials that the system can actually work, and appease the elements of the right who want to make America white and Christian again without betraying his constituents.
What could go wrong?