I’ve been wrong about a lot when it comes to Trump, but I’m sure I’ve been right about one thing. Trump did not begin his 2015 presidential campaign with a Wile E. Coyote-like plan to upend his party. He takes over the country. Like everything else President Trump has done in his life, that campaign was nothing more than a Burnemesque self-promotional stunt, an opportunity to further enhance his family’s brand.
What made Trump’s rise possible was actually a coincidence: the clash between celebrity and social media, a xenophobic backlash against the Obama era, and a deep-seated resentment toward the Clintons, the Bushes, and the bankers. He didn’t need much strategy or money. All he needed to do was break through the fourth wall of politics. All he does is stare straight into the camera and channel the viewer’s anger, much like the reality show star he’s used to.
President Trump must have been surprised to learn that Republicans could just as easily be acquired and replaced as a bankrupt hotel chain. In the eight years since that election, which culminated in Mitch McConnell’s decision to resign as Senate Republican leader this year, President Trump has done what only Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan could do a century ago. accomplished something. Sort constituencies.
By attracting large numbers of alienated independents and displacing a corresponding faction of older conservatives, Trump has fundamentally changed what it means to be a Republican – from rugged individualists to isolationists. , becoming a chilling nationalist rather than a rugged individualist. Now, the real RINOs (Republicans in name only) are the very Trumpist leaders of the party, who fly the tattered flag of their predecessors but with very different policies.
But for Trump, all that conquest comes at a price. His name, once a glitzy but coveted asset among hoteliers and resort builders, is now anathema to many of his high-end clientele. President Trump’s brand is now worth more on spray-painted sneakers than on the facade of a skyscraper.
Trump’s debt continues to grow even as it becomes harder to access cash in his name. Thanks to a recent court ruling, he now owes more than $500 million in damages and will be unable to operate his remaining New York business for three years. He still faces two federal charges. President Trump faces the very real possibility of trading in his red tie for an orange jumpsuit for the first time in his fast-moving, fantasy-inducing career.
Politically speaking, all this is a gift. Combined with a frivolous prosecution in New York City for extramarital hush money and a circus that now threatens to overtake Trump’s prosecution on election interference charges in Georgia, it has contributed enormously to Trump’s public cause. It allows Mr. Trump to credibly portray himself as a victim of the left. Legal establishment.
But Trump must know Al Pacino’s routine (“The whole trial has gone crazy!”) will not be able to distance him from the reality of multiple verdicts. It is unlikely that he will weather this storm as a civilian without significant financial ruin or prison time. There’s only one way out for sure.
If you want to worry about American autocracy, worry about this. Predicting Trump’s actions is never a good betting strategy, but at heart he’s always been more of an enthusiastic entertainer than a scheming monarchist. He may not care much about democratic principles, but it’s also not clear that he cares enough about what he thinks. do They care about immigration, trade, and white nationalism, and try to impose their will on the courts and military.
But if there’s one thing we can infer from Trump’s history as a con artist, it’s that he will do anything to save himself. Once he assumes the presidency, he will be able to overshadow the temporary immunity he desperately needs. Will he use his control over the Justice Department to shut down prosecutors? absolutely. Will he try the legal twist of granting himself a full pardon? Bet on it.
Within days of his second term in office, Trump will transform the executive branch into his sanctuary and law firm, an instrument of protection and retaliation.everything else and everythingOne Otherwise it will be second.
In 2016, Trump’s impromptu campaign was a lark. Eight years later, he is running with the ferocity of a desperate man. For the star of politics’ biggest reality show, cancellation is no longer an option.