It's worth noting that their plan isn't to stop having #elections. Their plan is to have phony elections where Trump happens to win 80% of the vote every time, as has happened with Putin and Russia for the last 20 years. This is an important distinction because they will be spending the next few years weakening democratic institutions (essentially anything that offers #resistance) and strengthening far-right institutions, all while playing wordgames about being defenders of freedom and #democracy (deny, redirect, ad hominem), just as Russia does with its own state owned media. Or course, most mainstream media will continue to play the 'just reporting both sides' game, to Trump's advantage.
It's essential right now though, despite all its flaws, that we don't abandon #journalism. Autocrats gain and maintain power by silencing critical voices in the media and keeping the public in the dark and checked out. Their most hated democratic tool is a free press, and so it has never been more important to support good journalism and to closely follow press freedom. Yes, the NYT institution is a dumpster fire. But Trump still hates their journalists and would love to see them in jail. The moment he starts jailing journalists is the moment we HAVE to be in the streets, because that is the five alarm fire bell: the point of no return. Once journalists are afraid to speak, he will have zero levers of accountability to restrain him. A free press and a knowledgeable public is the last line of defense. #uspol