‘Doomsday philosopher’ preps for ‘political apocalypse’ under Trump

Doomsday preppers are often depicted as right-wingers. Some are libertarians, while others are Christian fundamentalists. And their reasons for predicting doom vary, ranging from fears of an economic collapse worse than the Great Depression to predictions of nuclear war.But Dmitri Mehlhorn, according to The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer, is a “doomsday philosopher” and a former Democratic strategist who fears a “political apocalypse” under President Donald Trump. “Betting money puts the odds of constitutional collapse in the United States at about one in 25,” Scherer explains in an article published on January 22. “Anyone can wager three or four cents on Polymarket, Kalshi, or PredictIt that will pay out $1 if Donald Trump wins a third term in the 2028 election — an impossibility, according to the plain text of the 22nd Amendment: ‘No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.’ Dmitri Mehlhorn, a former Democratic strategist, thinks that the chance of political apocalypse is about 20 times higher — and that Americans need to start preparing now.”Scherer adds, “He recently secured dual citizenship for his family on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and is obsessively thinking through how people should respond if Trump tries to maintain power with the threat of force. He styles himself a doomsday philosopher of this worst-case scenario.”In December 2025, according to Scherer, Mehlhorn visited Manhattan’s Soho area to “play a war game of sorts” with “about 15 finance professionals, nonprofit leaders, technology executives, and former Democratic-campaign advisers.”In the game, Scherer reports, the people gathered in Soho faced a fictional scenario in which “President Buzz Windrip” and “his team must increase their own wealth and maintain power or secure legal amnesty through 2030.” Mehlhorn told Scherer that in the scenario, “You have a man who breaks the law, and that man is the strongman. Which bends, the man or the law? That’s the question…. If the president has proven in his first term that he will ignore subpoenas and ignore congressional budget authorizations and pardon anybody who also does, then suddenly, there’s no power. What are the remaining checks? Every check is gone.”Interviewed by Scherer, Mehlhorn voiced his fears about what could happen in the 2028 presidential election.”Trump would announce his candidacy for president late, leading the Republican Party to easily nominate him,” Scherer explains. “The Supreme Court then would either split on the question of whether this is legal or rule against Trump with no effect. (Vice President) JD Vance has repeatedly endorsed the idea of the president defying Supreme Court rulings. As the votes are being counted, Mehlhorn imagines, Trump and federal law enforcement would declare rampant fraud in urban centers and move to disqualify residents of those districts’ votes. In January 2029, Vance would do what (former Vice President) Mike Pence did not do in 2021: use his power to throw the election to Trump.”Scherer continues, “If there is resistance, another pro-Trump mob — including many who have already been pardoned for the January 6, 2021, attack — could provide backup.”Mehlhorn told Scherer, “As president, who stops him? Who prevents that from happening? What person? What combination of people?”Read Michael Scherer’s full article for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).

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