You're going to have to specify...

You talking like, U.S. declaration of Independence, or more/less recent than that...?

While my mind is fuzzier now, I like to think it was a "things change for the better" else - engineers/scientists completely stop giving a fuck about helping the U.S.

That's one example of something totally different. In order for this to be the same thing, someone would have to platform on removing the constitution or something

And also there's no rule that says it will get worse, either. When you have competent people making the rules, there's a good chance it gets better

Trump's election reflected a popular belief that rule by establishment experts was so intolerable, literally anything else would be better. It was the same passionate, desperate anger, the same "fuck it, let the world burn" strategy, just pointed in the opposite direction.

Opposite direction? Same direction as the poster above, just in different language.

The mandate was to respect scientists less, not more.

Implying that the system has been smashed.

Trump said he'd smash the system, and I'll admit I thought he would. That was one monumental lie.