There will not be a successful power struggle because of the person JD Vance is. He will take office after Trump, but unlike him, he will actually be a puppet to oligarchs with no agency. The biggest lie people tell themselves about Trump is the he has handlers and is totally controlled by other people. However, if the rich actually wanted an obedient puppet, they would've chosen literally anyone else. They support Trump because only he could give them so much, but Trump is a dangerous person they'd rather have without. He has irreplaceable political support, while Vance is a weak yes man who will follow whatever his beneficiaries want.

They will demand elections, not because they want to return to genuine liberal democracy, but because they'll want the stability and support for the system liberal democracy brings. If Vance somehow wins even with the increasingly toxic MAGA brand and his lack of charisma, they'll get more of what they want. If Democrats win, they'll get a corrupt goon who will repeal none of Trump's changes that actually benefit them, while throwing a few bones to social progressives.

A new Democratic administration would not be a return to the past, but a chance for them to solidify policy changes with more popular support. The next Republican administration doesn't have to worry about pardons because the weak ass Democrats will never do a fucking thing beyond the bare minimum for revenge. They'll be too busy attacking the left for being China loving communists. All the while, the things taken away will fade from political memory, and people will get used to our new cyberpunk dystopia.

But that's not all!

While a lot of oligarchs do want a more conservative social order, they want money and economic control more. They've already won big, and a number of changes like abortion access and anti trans bigotry are unlikely to reverse course. They're taking such a big chunk out of our civil rights that even if half of them were restored, they'll still have won enough to keep them satiated for now. Even better, as the Democrats once again prove to be ineffectual and weak, they'll be able to sell fascism as the solution once more.

You over estimate AI and propaganda's ability to create stability. People having shit material conditions will always create instability that the oligarchs need to lean into to maintain control. Them having a Democrat win an election is not them losing anything, but all part of their plan. We aren't in for a stable authoritarian government where the people are made poorer and more powerless every year. That just isn't possible and never has been. China is strong now because they made their country wealthy and powerful, while the Soviet Union collapsed because they made member states bitter and squeezed their people for no meaningful benefit. Now the US will follow the Soviet Union into the graveyard of empires, and it will probably be even less pretty than that era was for them