Presuming Trump will be voted out of office, will he remain a significant political force

[no_hypocrisy]

Last edited Tue May 12, 2020, 08:20 AM - Edit history (1)

in the private sector?

IOW, without having any other power than his "personality," will he be able to shape opinion, rally mobs to act against the federal government?

[jimfields33]

1. I think he will try

No way will he be W during Obama years or Obama during trump years. He’s going to be a pain in the ass daily for President Biden.

[D_Master81]

2. Unfortunately yes

Unlike other past Presidents he won’t be able to shrink into the background. Given that he has a devoted mob unless state charges land him in jail I don’t see him just going away. It’s his drug

[woodsprite]

3. I'd say he's always going to stir trouble,

Foment dissenters, Fire up what’s left of his base. After all, aren’t they trying to purchase their own version of Fox?

[maxrandb]

4. No cellphones allowed in Federal prison

So NO!

[NewJeffCT]

20. He's going to pardon everybody around him

and then resign around January 15, 2021 and have Pence pardon him. Or else he will pardon himself and leave it up to the courts to decide. even if SCOTUS eventually rules that the pardons were corrupt and therefore not valid, it will likely take a few years to wind through the courts and I don't think the mentally declining Trump will be around in 4-6 years to be sent to prison.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

5. I'm sure he will try,

but, he sounds like a babbling idiot and doesn't look very healthy, so he may not be able to keep up the pace.

I see a bankruptcy in his future, plus legal set backs.

[Vinca]

6. He'll consider himself the president in exile and will lead the mob into even worse things.

Unless he dies soon after leaving office, he could incite another civil war. Junior might try to pick up the mantle, but he just doesn't have the same appeal as the original nut. His rabid followers are as stupid and gullible as the poor people who followed Jim Jones to the Kool-Aid stand. They'll do anything.

[kevink077]

7. Will he lose with grace?

I doubt with grace, and the meltdown will be priceless to watch.

[sunonmars]

8. Do you think he'd go quietly, not a chance. He's going to cause trouble.

[Dave Starsky]

9. Trump isn't leaving the White House. Ever.

And he's got a Justice Department, a Senate, and a Supreme Court to absolutely ensure that he stays.

The sooner we embrace this reality and prepare ourselves to deal with it, the better.

[kentuck]

10. For what it's worth, he will own the Republican Party...

And will always have a microphone.

[Proud liberal 80]

11. He will try but will be ignored

I think the reason most Republicans put up with him now is that he is the president and had power and he gives them what he wants. Remember he only had plurality support in the primaries, but once he got the nomination they backed him because they would back any Republican over a Democrat. I even think his supporters will stop paying attention to him once he is off the National stage, they will look for that next shiny penny. Remember Sarah Palin, those same supporters were crazy about her, and everyone thought that she had a movement and this big following, but once she became old and had no power, she became irrelevant to them........I say in a few years, you will find few people who will say they voted for Trump. Republicans will say he was a bad President....similar to the way they treat Bush now

[SpaceNeedle]

12. It depends upon how many of his crimes come out ost election

He may become radioactive even to republicans. He will always have his stupid base though.

[Brother Mythos]

13. Of course he will remain a significant and dangerous political force.

Clorox Von Syphilis is a malignant narcissist and sociopath who has managed to create a massive cult following. A person like him will not willing walk away from that.

In fact, I expect him and his clan to try to start their own wholly owned media outlet(s) to capitalize (and monetize) his cult figure status. And, I'm certain there are enough greedy oligarchs out there who will be willing to provide financial backing for such ventures. After all, everything turd does is in their best interests.

Even after being flushed in November, this turd will not go quietly into the night.

[JHB]

14. He'll try. He has a visceral need to be the center of attention...

He has always had that. Throughout his whole life, all the showboating, all the manufactured PR, plastering his name on everything, all of it. Now that he has a cult of True Believers, he won't give that up. It'll probably fade out from under him eventually, but for the next few years he'll work it all he can.

Add to that, how much you want to bet that as he sees it, the best way to stay out of jail is to play the martyr and attack his replacements as fiercely as possible (well, "as possible" meaning "as possible while still being lazy about it", because it's Donald).

He won't directly advocate violence, but he'll do the "mob boss" thing of letting his followers draw their own conclusions about what he wants done. Always keep it deniable.

[DFW]

15. He might end up as Sarah Palin

A noisy curiosity for a while.

[Atticus]

16. If Trump is not indicted, prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned, the US as we know it

will cease to exist. Most in this thread appear to presume he will not be in prison. Are we conceding that his crimes are not crimes?

Seriously, if Trump's crimes are ignored because his "base" threatens to revolt, the game is over and they've won.

[Buckeyeblue]

17. Trump TV...coming soon to your basic cable package

He will be on the TV all the time. It will be a mixture of QVC and extreme white nationalist politics. In other words cheap jewelry and hate talk.

[Alacritous Crier]

23. Yup...

They are going to acquire OAN and rebrand it as Trump TV. The process is already in the works. As far as it being successful.... well, we all know his track record.

[Buckeyeblue]

28. Part of me wonders if he wouldn't prefer this

He keeps his base but isn't responsible for anything. I think he would quit tomorrow if he could be guaranteed that no charges would be filed against him or the family.

[Alacritous Crier]

29. Agreed.

[spanone]

18. Hopefully he'll spend his time behind bars

[Squinch]

19. I don't think so. Republicans with power know who he is, but to them he

is a very useful tool. Once he is no longer useful, he'll be as influential as Sarah Palin.

[Mike 03]

21. Maybe he won't even care about that because he'll be fixated on

trying to salvage the Trump Organization. He'll have so many deals in tatters, so many investigations into his finances, and so many lawsuits that unless there's a lot of money in it he might eschew politics altogether except for the occasional RW interview. Maybe I'm wrong but I expect most of the conservative movement to distance itself immediately from Trump, since he will no longer be of any practical use.

[no_hypocrisy]

22. I lean into your premise about the abandoning by conservatives, if only because

Trump won't have the power to exact leverage and/or revenge.

[Demsrule86]

24. No, when the truth comes out about him, it will be hard in a few years to find anyone who admits to

supporting him...sure the slimy under the rock racist base will but no one else.

[smirkymonkey]

25. I'm afraid ther is only one way to be certain that he will shut up forever.

And that is when he is six-feet under. We should only be so lucky.

I really feel that a majority of people in this country feel traumatized by having him as a president. And even when he is out of office, he will continue to act like an abusive ex-husband with a restraining order who never stops being a threat to your health, sanity and well-being. You just never know when the next blow is coming.

[drray23]

26. i dont think so

Once he is out of power he ceases to be useful to the republicans. Trump will be all too busy trying to stay out of jail or stop his business from completely going under. Without the power of the presidency , he wont be able to bully senators and congress members.

[JT45242]

27. Not from a NY state prison he won't...

The many scenarios with a January resignation and a Pence pardon ignore one of the key facts.

The state of NY has him dead to rights on a variety of fraud, tax evasion, and other charges. (So does Florida, but they are too corrupt to go after him, until at least the next statewide position of power election).

They will cuff and stuff him because that is what you should do to multiple felons.

This of course assumes that when his time as a useful idiot has been completed that he doesn;t get a polonium laced diet coke courtesy of his best friend from Europe.

[Tikki]

30. If he is trounced and takes others down with him...I think his power will wane sharply.

But I bet the repugs will try to insert a trump-like in the National political scene..no matter what...
throughout their future.

Tikki

[machoneman]

31. I have to agree: he will be a force. That's why Don Jr. bought shares in OAN, the new Trump news....

channel. Even as we pursue his jailing, that could take years and even with guilty verdicts, appeals may keep him in the public eye for a long time thereafter. The CNN link is worth a read btw:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/08/media/one-america-news-trump/index.html

Still, if he trumpets what we think, it could all backfire badly not on him but the Republiscum Party. On his loss and that of the Senate majority, the leading R-Scums will run like the devil to separate from him. Good luck with that as Trumpy will remind everyone every single day by his weird lies that he was and still is their standard bearer until he dies.

This could be really good for us as I have no doubt there will be an effort to draft him in a third party bid (as even brain-dead Republiscum leadership will never want him again). And the more they try to ignore Trumpyboy, the more he'll push to get himself or more likely one of his kids into high office. Splitting the vote to maybe 25% of the voting public with the R-Scums will kill any chances for years that they retake the House, Senate or Presidency.

[bluestarone]

32. If this fucking maniac is NOT dealt with after he loses in Nov. ( I mean prison for a long time)

He will hold rallies for 4 years! getting donations for four years, lying for four years! The answer is HELL YES he will cause all kinds of trouble!!!

[shockey80]

33. At the very least, Trump will be investigated, in court the rest of his life.

He has made many, many, powerful enemies and they will be out for blood. His legal bills will be through the roof. Many people will sue him, go after his money. When Trump leaves office, his life will be pure hell.

[not_the_one]

34. Jail is the only possible option that would prevent him being a force of any kind.

And even there, as long as he has access to a microphone (he WON'T allow photos ) he will still get his swill out to the swine.

[Politicub]

35. He will remain an important figure for the MAGAts

And the mainstream media will probably report most of his acidic tweets against the next administration.

While I want to forget about Trump the moment he leaves office, the media will continue to cover his hucksterism. Trump’s narcissism will keep propelling him to expose his id.

Ivanka will try to hock baubles with her brand, but will be relegated to the merch page of Brietbart.

Jared Kushner will slither back into his spider hole. I doubt we’ll see him anymore.

Don Jr. will become an Alex Jones-like figure who will whip his followers into a frothy frenzy about crackpot conspiracy theories. Unless you frequent the alt-right media bubble, he will stay out of your field of view, only appearing on shows like TMZ when he does something more stupid than usual.

Melania... i don’t care, do u?

Tiffany - ?????

Baron will either become a Ron Reagan Jr.-type figure who rejects his father and his politics or will fade into obscurity, but will occasionally get paraded out by the alt-right at CPAC.

If my crackpot family’s Facebook posts about Trump conspiracies and pictures of him with Jesus are any indication, he will continue to be venerated by them. Oh, and more Fox News appearances and/or a reprise of the Apprentice on OAN.

On edit: He will avoid the perp walk we all deserve to see by the next administration who will want to promote unity and reconciliation by letting him off the hook. I hate the idea of this outcome.