Things will fundamentally change in the United States

Okay, let me admit that I can't explain what that means. And I especially can't explain what I mean by "will", when a lot of things have fundamentally changed.
But I can also say...things will fundamentally change in the United States.

Something that might not be clear for people outside of the US

Lots of stuff going on, so here is a short thought:

For decades, Donald Trump was tabloid fodder. He was a celebrity that did wacky, stupid, and scandalous things online. That was the entire point of him. And he was almost inconsequential---when people were tired of his buffoonish personality, and didn't want to hear anymore about his divorces and bankruptcy, they could change the channel.

And that mindset was pretty deep. As weird as his first term was, it was almost entertainment. And up until Covid, it didn't change day to day life.

I think that all along, up into his second term, people thought that this was a reality show they could switch off at will. There would be no real consequences to Trump being stupid, and corrupt.

And just in the past week, even after that first year, that has changed. I think a lot of people are realizing that, no, we can't just call a timeout on this one and dismiss it. This is going to change things and it isn't a joke.