The nightmare is almost over. Next year at this time, the United States and indeed the world will have reason to celebrate—because we’ll know who will be sworn in as the American president January 2021.

It has indeed been a nightmare. Well, not if you’re a Trump supporter. Not if you celebrate racism, immigrant internment, separation of families, erosion of civil rights, stacking the Supreme Court to favor right-wing ideals, and public support of hatred, intolerance, and violence. Not if you approve of a president who lies as a rule, profits from his office, and cozies up to dictators. Not if you support the executive ignorance of the rule of law, the administration’s flaunting of its abuse of power, and Trump’s refusal to cooperate with any investigation. Not if you think that ignoring the impeachment process, one of the basic underpinnings of the Constitution of the United States, is a good idea.

No, if you’re that guy, the past three years has been an absolute dream. But judging by the majority of people who didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, the past three years have not been a dream. They have been an endless nightmare of historic proportions, with new tragedy almost daily. His supporters defend him without question, but to do so they must, and do, ignore the ever-growing mountain of allegations, evidence, witnesses, and proof that incriminates Trump and those in his inner circle.

They must, and do, ignore how he puts our nation at risk, places our troops in danger, and leaves our international standing in a shambles.

They must, and do, pretend that it’s all good, that there’s nothing wrong with any of it, that it’s all fake news, and that the Democrats are just manufacturing everything because they’re sore over losing the 2016 election.

They must, and do, act as if they wouldn’t have lost their minds if Hillary Clinton had won the election and done any one of the hundreds of terrible and/or horrible and/or embarrassing and/or destructive and/or disastrous and/or self-serving and/or illegal things that Trump has done.

Remember, the GOP led the relentless charge against Hillary Clinton for her email server and for Benghazi and the uranium deal, just as they did over Whitewater, just as they did to her husband for lying about his sex life. But each of the myriad dreadful things that this president has done is more serious, more real, and more provable than anything the GOP wishes that Hillary Clinton had done. And these greedy, selfish, hypocritical Republicans who have let it all happen must, and do, pretend it’s all OK for their president when it wouldn’t be for a Democratic president—or else their hateful, intolerant, extreme-right agenda will suffer.

The nightmare will end next year when we elect a president. What will the outcome be?

It’s possible that Donald Trump will be convicted in an impeachment trial in the Senate, and we end up with a different Republican on the ballot. That’s highly unlikely, given his incredible support amongst those who protect him regardless of his endless misdeeds, day after week after month after year. I think Trump runs for president next year—and, for the record, he can do it even if he is impeached and removed from office.

But I feel confident that we won’t let Trump serve a second term, or even elect Mike Pence or any other GOP Trumpoid. I think too many Americans want every last vestige of this administration gone forever so that we can get to work repairing the four years of devastation inflicted on us from the worst presidency our nation has ever seen, undoing the evil it has wielded and the suffering it has wrought, and sending all the deplorable Trump supporters packing with their Make America Great Again hats.

The irony that we now actually need to make America great again is not lost on me. He campaigned on that slogan, but he has weakened our nation, riven our society, and demonized all who annoy him, from Democrats to those few sensible Republicans to members of the free press. He has shredded our global reputation, fiercely and flagrantly ignored our system of laws, claimed immunity from everything, and even attempted to dismantle our Constitution. I think the definition of “great” for most of us is clearly different than his.

So yes, a year from now, I feel that the nightmare will be over. A Democrat will win the presidency and proceed with fixing this mess.

But what if that doesn’t happen? What if Trump survives it all and wins a second term? Isn’t that the nightmare to end all nightmares?

It would mean another four years for him to destroy things. But while it would be horrible, it wouldn’t be as bad in one key way; namely, that he can’t run for a third term. If he loses, he could be back four years later, and we’ll always be dreading the prospect. If he wins, at least his days will be unquestionably numbered. It would suck, but at least we’d know the score.

But I cannot see Americans letting this nightmare continue in any form—not with Trump, and not with any Republican candidate who supports the horrible things that he’s done. A majority of Americans voted for Clinton in 2016, and for just a few swing states did Trump end up in the Oval Office. That just cannot happen again. If it does, I will officially lose any faith I have in our constitutional democracy.

No, I have to believe that the nightmare will truly be over. I just have to. It has been a long and dark nightmare, and more than anything I want to finally wake up.

David M. Fitzpatrick is a fiction writer in Maine, USA. His many short stories have appeared in print magazines and anthologies around the world. He writes for a newspaper, writes fiction, edits anthologies, and teaches creative writing. Visit him at www.fitz42.net/writer to learn more.