Butterflying A Bat: America (and the world) without COVID-19

Note: This is not complete yet. I will likely expand this.

Good, good.

I'm gonna ask for help from TheRomanSlayer for this.

Midterm Aftermath: November 2022 to March 2023
The effects of the midterms where vast. The second blue wave year in a row gave the Democrats a majority of governorships for the first time in a decade. It also saw the very beginnings of the 2024 Presidential Election. As it happened, the Democrats list of candidates thus far included Senator Kamala Harris of California and Secretary of Defense Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. However, that would change very quickly. Only days after her win in the midterms, Senator-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced her candidacy for President of the United States. No one really gave her a serious shot and Sen. Harris remained the far and away frontrunner.

On the Republican side, all eyes where on Mike Pence, who formed an exploratory committee in November 2022. However, not all Republicans would wait for Pence to announce his candidacy or to make a statement. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, himself fresh off re-election, announced his candidacy for President and promised to lead America as he had led Texas. Further, Senator Ted Cruz considered launching a run for the nation's highest office. Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis both where also considering runs. However, soon, a new frontrunner in the race would appear.

In January 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that oil production in Canada would close over the course of the next 7 years, and that pipelines shipping oil to the United States would be closed. Trudeau, facing a challenge from his left and the New Democratic Party (the Canadian Conservative Party's polling numbers where shameful and on par with Bloc Quebecois nationally), closed the pipeline to shore up support for his government in an upcoming election later that year. However, in America, many on the right became extraordinary angry. One state Governor would rise to increased prominence after her state's economy was destroyed by this move on the part of the Trudeau Government - S.D. Governor Kristi Noem. Noem announced that the State Legislature had voted and she had signed into law a piece of legislation condemning Canada and Trudeau for doing serious damage to the state's economy. Noem made her voice heard and appealed to the common American people in stops between flights between Pierre, Washington, and Ottawa. She was on multiple occasions called before the United States Senate to testify on the effects of the pipeline's shutting down. Further, the national economy was hurt by this, with gas prices rising in a dramatic fashion. President Trump worked with Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Representative Yvette Herrell (R-NM-2) to pass the Oil Production and Price Stability Act of 2021, which gave grants to Oil & Gas and created the 20 Cent Rule, which stopped gas corporations from raising gas prices by more then 20 cents a week, insulating and stabilizing the Oil and Gas field.



With the economy on a downward spiral, Noem became a frontrunner in a race where the Trumpist man (or in this case, woman) wins. She announced her candidacy on March 5th, 2023, and in polling she was launched to the 40-45% polling range. And with the first Republican Primary Debate scheduled for July, her candidacy would crack the nutshell wide open.

Who would be the likely candidate for SecDef then?

Trudeau would not end the oil production at all.

The reasoning with Gabbard is that Trump actually does like her and even interviewed her for a job. As for Trudeau, he primarily did it to shore up the bote