Links, tweets & maybe 2024? The uncertain future for the still popular Trump
When the networks projected that he had lost his candidacy
for re-election to Joe Biden, US President Donald Trump was playing golf. He
will soon have a lot more time to take advantage of the links if he wishes.
But if there is one constant for Trump, it is his love for
the limelight and few expect this most unusual of presidents to pursue a
traditional post-White House life of public reluctance, to writing thoughtful
memoirs and occasional charity events.
He will lose the keys to the White House but not his
connection to Twitter, where Trump and his prickly fingers could still exert
powerful control over his Republican Party.
Some allies have already spoken of Trump planning a rematch
in 2024. Only one other president, Grover Cleveland, served non-consecutive
terms, claiming victory in 1892 after narrowly losing his re-election four
years earlier.
A supporter holds a flag representing the face of US
President Donald Trump outside the John F. Kennedy Public Library as voters
cast their ballots early in Hialeah, Fla. On October 19, 2020 (Eva Marie
UZCATEGUI / AFP)
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has
euphemistically stated that Trump - who has refused to concede and makes
unsubstantiated allegations of widespread fraud - "doesn't like to
lose."
"I would absolutely expect the president to stay
involved in politics and absolutely put him on the shortlist of people who may
run in 2024," he told an Irish think tank.
"He is a very energetic 74 year old man," he added.
Trump's children have made it clear that they always demand
Republicans loyalty.
U.S. President Donald Trump plays golf at Trump National
Golf Club November 7, 2020 in Sterling, Virginia, as media report Joe Biden has
been elected president. (Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)
"The complete lack of action on the part of virtually
all of the GOP 2024 hopefuls is pretty incredible," Donald Trump Jr.
tweeted Thursday.
He called by name Senator Lindsey Graham, a former Trump
critic turned supporter who was re-elected. Hours later, Graham was on Trump's
favorite show, Fox News, pledging money for the president's legal defense and
repeating unsubstantiated accusations of electoral irregularities.
Trump TV?
The three-time-married New York-born hotel developer and
television celebrity has made no secret of his yearning for the comforts of his
pre-White House days.
“I had a great life. I've had the best life, ”Trump said in
Grand Rapids, Mich., During his last campaign rally.
Its main product to finance this lifestyle has been its own
name. According to his disgraced former lawyer Michael Cohen, the 2016
presidential race itself was conceived as a "brand opportunity" -
until he unexpectedly won.
A person takes part in a march and rally for US President
Donald Trump on 5th Avenue on October 25, 2020 in New York City. (David Dee
Delgado / Getty Images / AFP)
Trump had rebuilt his public profile in the 2000s as the
host of the "Celebrity Apprentice" reality series following a string
of bankruptcies.
The president hinted that he was looking to build a “TrumpTV” brand as he complained more and more about Fox News, accusing the channel
that helped fuel his rise of being insufficiently right-wing.
Viewers, he tweeted, “want an alternative now. Me too!"
And no one can deny that Trump has the gift of gossip.
At his countless gatherings, he greeted large crowds in a
sort of hypnotized attention with shifts in the flow of consciousness from
conspiracy theories to jokes to beasts, like his particularly passionate
critique of the low pressure of l water in bathroom taps.
US President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign
rally in Sunrise, Fla. November 26, 2019 (AP Photo / Susan Walsh)
And he has a potential ready-made vehicle for the project in
the form of cable channels openly supporting Trump One America News and NewsMax
TV - current minnows that a Trump takeover could turn into giants.
Prison or road trip?
An equally plausible scenario in which Trump is embroiled in
serious legal issues.
New York prosecutors are already investigating Trump's
silent payment to a porn star, his tangled business dealings, and his
mysterious accounting practices. Then there are the allegations of rape and
other sexual assault.
U.S. President Donald Trump forgives Butter, the national
Thanksgiving turkey, in the White House Rose Garden on November 26, 2019, in
Washington. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky)
As president, Trump is largely protected from prosecution.
Some have speculated that he could challenge accepted norms again by trying to
grant himself a preventive pardon.
Eight Trump associates, including men who served as his
campaign managers, lawyer and national security adviser, have already been
charged or jailed for serious crimes, including the 2016 campaign's links to
Russia.
Or maybe Trump will want to get away from it all.
Also read: Who is winning the Election
As implausible as it sounds, he dropped a few clues.
In June, at the White House, he thought about taking a road
trip in a motorhome with his former model wife Melania.
U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the driver's seat of a
tractor-trailer as he greets truckers and CEOs at the White House in
Washington, DC, to discuss healthcare on March 23, 2017 (AFP / Jim Watson)
Less romantic but just as heartfelt, he stopped mid-speech
at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania to admire the parked trucks.
"Nice trucks," said the president. "Do you think I could jump in one of them and chase it?" I'd love to do it, just chase it out of here. Fuck that. "
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