Which word best describes the current Republican Party? Chaos? Debacle? Fiasco? Trainwreck?

— The North Country’s Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik recently appeared on the NBC news program “Meet the Press,” and it was pure irrational defiance. She referred to people imprisoned for the Jan. 6, 2021, violent insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol as “hostages.” Having voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election, she refused to commit to certifying the 2024 presidential election because of her concerns regarding election integrity — in the absence of evidence that the 2020 election was corrupted.

She defended former President Donald Trump’s assertion that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” which echoed Adolf Hitler’s 1925 poisonous autobiographical manifesto, “Mein Kampf.” Stefanik demurely stated that she would be “honored” to serve under a Trump administration, like a musician eager to join a jazz band for a trans-Atlantic cruise dedicated to finding and colliding with large icebergs.

— Only 56 people have served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives since the position was established in 1789, an average personal tenure of 4.2 years. U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson has served as speaker for less than 12 weeks, but House Republicans are threatening to remove him because he supports bills to fund the government. His predecessor, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, served less than nine months before he was removed (with Trump’s support) because he supported bills to fund the government. Under the U.S. Constitution, the primary responsibility of the House of Representatives is to pass bills to fund the government.

— Donald Trump is the Republican Party’s leading candidate for President for 2024, even though he was impeached for soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and for incitement of insurrection after that election. In addition, Trump has been indicted four times, for a total of 91 counts, including falsifying business records, mishandling of sensitive documents, conspiracy to obstruct the government, defrauding the government and corruptly obstructing an official proceeding, and conspiring to unlawfully change the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

In addition, Trump as president was shown to have received at least $7.8 million from foreign governments in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the president from profiting from foreign governments without Congressional approval. Trump also faces efforts to disqualify him on a state-by-state basis under our Fourteenth Amendment’s prohibition against serving in government after engaging in or supporting insurrection.

Perhaps most importantly, Trump has repeatedly asserted that if re-elected he will be a dictator “from Day One” and will be prepared to mobilize the federal government to pursue a campaign of retribution against his political rivals, many of whom served in his administration.

— This week, Trump’s attorneys argued that he enjoys absolute immunity with respect to all actions taken after the election and on Jan. 6, 2021, claiming that those actions were related to his official constitutional duties as president. When a judge in the hearing posed outrageous acts that a president might engage in, such as selling pardons or state secrets or ordering SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival, Trump’s attorney wrongly defended Trump and argued that Congress must impeach and convict a president before any criminal charges can be pursued.

In response to another of Trump’s claims of immunity, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote that whatever immunities a sitting president may enjoy, the position “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”

Where do we go from here?

As our nation enters the 2024 election campaign season, the range of potential outcomes appears to be narrowing:

— Trump may be exonerated of all criminal charges. Does anyone really consider that outcome likely, given the robust evidence supporting the many criminal charges against him?

— Trump may be convicted of one or more felonies. If so, he may be imprisoned. Many legal experts predict this outcome.

— If convicted, Trump could be removed from candidacy by the Republican Party in favor of another candidate. That outcome appears unlikely, given that the party is now firmly under Trump’s control. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine the GOP embracing a convicted felon as their leader.

— If convicted and elected, Trump might attempt to self-pardon. If successful, he will have established that he is above the law. He will be well-positioned to suspend our constitution and become a dictator, and he will be surrounded by sycophants with no interest in restraining him.

— Trump would then face few restraints to his pursuing a campaign of retribution, self-aggrandizement, and self-enrichment. He would likely be able to suspend elections, ignore or disband Congress and federal courts, fire career public servants in favor of cronies (or simply shut down the government), and otherwise take all power and authority upon himself. He would be free to cozy up with racists and anti-Semites, as well as dictators and autocrats including Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, and Viktor Orban, and to abandon our historic allies including the European Union, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

— Alternatively, we can re-elect President Joe Biden, who has successfully led the global fight in defense of freedom and democracy, tamed inflation, presided over our strongest economic growth in decades, expanded access to health care, and funded the greatest set of infrastructure improvements in generations. His administration has been remarkably free from scandal or corruption, and he has accomplished great things despite Republicans in Congress and the courts seeking to obstruct him at every turn.

In Russia, people who oppose Putin frequently “fall” out of an upper-story window to their death (www.newsweek.com/full-list-russians-fall-windows-putin-ukraine-war-1781790). The future of our nation is still under our control. We can choose to support rational, competent, ethical government, or we can embrace a failed former reality TV star/president who offers lies, corruption, irrationality, chaos, and autocracy. We all need to go into this year with our eyes wide open, recognizing what is at stake and what we stand to lose.

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David Banks lives in Rockville, Maryland.