What will Trump: The End be like?

[Mister Mets]

The New Republic had an interesting piece months ago about the ways Trump will probably be with us for some time.

https://newrepublic.com/article/1445...esents-america

If he's forced out, or loses in 2020, he'll probably be some kind of pundit as a former President with a significant base. The majority of the country may hate him, but it'll be pretty much impossible for him not to have tens of millions of followers.

He’ll still be able to turn out huge crowds, command a vast Twitter audience, and get television exposure whenever he wants it, even in “retirement.” The word itself is farcical when applied to Trump. How can a man who has never held a job he didn’t inherit or buy retire from being himself? Teddy Roosevelt never did, and carried on blithely bully-pulpiting, to ebulliently divisive and obstreperous effect, for a decade after leaving the White House. That’s probably the closest prototype for what we can expect from ex-President Trump, but multiplied a thousandfold by today’s social media platforms and his own irresponsibility.

Nor will Trump feel constrained by the long-standing protocol that keeps former presidents from commenting on the policies and job performance of their successors. Far from it—because bashing the new tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will present Trump with his best chance to stir up outrage and get attention. Cable news networks, which pretend to respect the reserve of other ex-presidents, will eat it up.

And he may not even have to depend on Fox News or CNN—his chief media enablers—for television access. Last year, when the punditocracy was still taking a Hillary Clinton presidency for granted, Trump mulled launching his own cable empire to perpetuate right-wing Trumpmania, reasoning (in the words of one of his associates) that “win or lose, we are on to something here.” The fascination of that “win or lose” is its indication that Trump’s view of the American electorate makes no distinction between voters and audiences. If we have learned nothing else about him, it’s that (1) his vast ego needs constant nursing and (2) enhancing the Trump brand is always his top priority, without any differentiation among gaudy casinos, online universities, mail-order steaks, and the presidency of the United States.

All Trump ever wanted to do was to play the president, a role that will be immeasurably easier once he’s actually out of office. Sarah Palin tried and failed to become a TV star after leaving office. Trump enacted that strategy in reverse. As ex-president, he will be perfectly positioned to return to his natural habitat, the simulacrum of “reality TV.” It’s not hard to imagine Trump TV as a ceaseless and influential presence in the cable landscape, tugging Fox News and the rest of the media even further to the right. Every day, Trump could sit in a mock Oval Office and explain how his successor is failing miserably, how terrible all politicians are, how he—and the American people—have been betrayed. He would become America’s ruling maestro of resentment, the nurturer of white male grievance in an increasingly diverse world.

Trump won’t need to burnish his “legacy” as other ex-presidents do, by politely writing their memoirs and launching foundations devoted to eradicating poverty or disease. He’ll just keep right on being Trump, wrecking and insulting everything in sight that isn’t his, all in the interest of selling crap emblazoned with his name. The only tradition he’s likely to follow is the building of his presidential library, which is sure to be a lulu. Even former presidents far better at simulating modesty have been unable to resist monumentalizing themselves for posterity. Unlike his predecessors, however, Trump is unhindered by taste. The damn thing will probably look like Caesar’s Palace crossed with a Bond villain’s lair.

He might stick around for a while, as a rich guy with great medical care. Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush are both in their mid-90s. Reagan and Ford died at 93.

If he passes away relatively soon, he'll continue to have advocates, who will gleefully grift his followers for money and power.

I wonder if politicians of the future will find it politically useful to praise him. I could see him being so pissed off at a Republican presidential candidate that he'll endorse the Democrat, which would result in interesting commentary.

[DrNewGod]

If he loses 2020, I can see him going to his grave ranting about a fix by a dishonest system, no matter what the numbers. I wonder if he would even attend the inauguration?

[Scott Taylor]

Peaceful existence underneath a bridge in Norway eating passing goats.

[SquirrelMan]

I have been wondering if polonium laced ice cream will play a part.

[MyriVerse]

Are people so stupid that the media needs to tell them how old the candidates are? You only have to look at them to see they are at least over 60.

It's not that they need to the media to tell them the fact, but they need the media to tell them how they feel about the fact.

[Michael Watkins]

You can stop right there and remember how many people voted for Trump against overwhelming evidence of what an incompetent, corrupt, ignorant lazy ******* he was.
Ye. they are that stupid.

it was moreso that he was to be their weapon against Hillary and Obama. they had been conditioned to hate the latter two by the republican party. so Trump swoops in and badmouths Hillary while promising to erase Obama's presidency. that he's basically a monster was irrelevant. he was going to "avenge" them (and protect everyone from the Mexicans).

[Michael Watkins]

I have been wondering if polonium laced ice cream will play a part.

I'm honestly surprised that he touched that soccer ball.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I'm honestly surprised that he touched that soccer ball.

I wasn’t. Dolt45 is a useful idiot to Bad Vlad and worth keeping around.

[PaulBullion]

Turns out the end might involved... Tom Arnold?

Tom Arnold tells reporters Mark Burnett and Ari Emmanuel are protecting Donald Trump by not releasing his "racist rant" Mark Burnett is Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television, Ari Emanuel is Co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor,

https://twitter.com/MrDane1982/statu...63654905028609

[Michael Watkins]

Turns out the end might involved... Tom Arnold?



https://twitter.com/MrDane1982/statu...63654905028609

if they release this, they will improve Trump's numbers/strengthen his base. did they not follow the Roseanne controversy?

[The Negative Zone]

Nothing exciting. The wall isn't built, but Trump's never impeached or charged with anything. Basically everything and everyone boils up but it ultimately leads to nothing.

[Carabas]

Gets convicted of stuff, pardons himself, his Supreme Court goes along with it.

And then loses in 2020 in a historical landslide. He refuses to accept this and has to be dragged out of the White House in handcuffs by the (I assume) Secret Service, screaming "FAKE NEWS" at the top of his shrill voice.

Melania divorces him and gets all of the money and real estate thanks to the Cohen tapes.

[BeastieRunner]

I still think he hangs himself on accident while pleasuring himself to Fox & Friends.

[Chris Lang]

My guess is if the investigations go anywhere, he'll get pardoned by Pence.

Ideally, we'd like him to go to jail, or go into exile, or just go somewhere where he'd be in obscurity and we wouldn't have to put up with his narcissism and so on. But Trump's the sort who would NEVER try to keep out of the spotlight unless things go really, REALLY bad for him. So bad he wishes he never became famous.

[Kirby101]

My guess is if the investigations go anywhere, he'll get pardoned by Pence.

Ideally, we'd like him to go to jail, or go into exile, or just go somewhere where he'd be in obscurity and we wouldn't have to put up with his narcissism and so on. But Trump's the sort who would NEVER try to keep out of the spotlight unless things go really, REALLY bad for him. So bad he wishes he never became famous.

He can still be tried in State Courts like NY. No pardon.