By Alexandra Rosenmann / AlterNetThis piece originally ran on AlterNet.

The first question we have to ask ourselves regarding a Trump presidency is if Trump means what he’s saying. “Trump says all sorts of things,” Chomsky reminded us. “Some of them make sense; Some of them are crazy. But the US is an extremely powerful state [and] if Trump means what he’s saying, the human species is in very deep trouble.”

Here’s his top five reasons why:

1) Global warming would continue to affect vulnerable areas.

Global warming is a hugely significant phenomenon – the effects of global warming is extremely severe – The Republican party, Trump in particular will block measures to stop production from coal plants. Trump simply says, “It’s not happening.” “That’s quite apart from other policies he’s advocating.

2) Torture would increase.

“Trump said, ‘Fine, let’s torture people,'” Chomsky said. “In fact, the kind of torture that’s outlawed by international law and became international scandal – water boarding – he said ‘that’s the least of it, let’s do more.'”

3) Refugees would be disregarded as an external problem.

Trump had a radical response to the Paris Attacks last year.”‘Let’s keep all Muslims out of the country’ [Trump said], Let’s build a wall, or rather let’s get Mexico to build a wall to prevent people from fleeing into the United States,” Chomsky reminded us. “Now, where are they fleeing from? Mostly from Central America where they’re fleeing from the results of our policies.”

4) Race relations would plummet.

“The people flocking to Trump’s banner are the people for whom the death rate is actually increasing,” Chomsky notes. “They have seen themselves as having their lives taken away from them, their dignity taken away, the possibilities for the future taken away. That has happened before in the past and the outcomes were not pretty.”

5) World war would be ever looming.

“American run polls show that the U.S is the greatest threat to world peace by a large margin. Right now the spectacle of the Republican primary is frightening people around the world – justifiably.”

It’s hard to know what to expect under a Trump presidency but, as Chomsky said, “to have somebody who’s kind of a wild man with his finger on the button that could destroy the world or make decisions with enormous influence is an extremely frightening prospect.”
Listen to Chomsky’s full analysis below:

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#2016 election#alternet#donald trump#environment#gop#human rights#noam chomsky#politics#republican party