It's open knowledge that disgraced malignant narcissist and con man Donald "Loser" Trump had no interest in actually managing the Executive Branch or in the policies that his regime put forward. While he was interested in the perquisites and pomp of the office that fluffed his megalomania (along with constant golfing), the office that he held and soiled so badly was less important than grifting off of the position.
However, ever since he lost the 2020 election decisively, he's been desperate to find a way out of the predicament that his multiple illegal actions have placed him in, having lost his immunity from prosecution. Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times lays it out:
"Throughout his epic, scandal-ridden career, Donald Trump has compiled an astonishing record of impunity, constantly staying one jump ahead of prosecutors, plaintiffs and creditors.
He is the only president to be impeached twice, and acquitted twice by the votes of Republican senators.
He spent almost three years under investigation for what looked like collusion with Russia, only to walk away scot-free.
His former lawyer, Michael Cohen, went to prison for paying hush money to an adult entertainer known as Stormy Daniels, but 'Individual-1,' the man who ordered him to write the check, was never held accountable.
That record of escapes would make Houdini envious.
But Trump remains under the gun. He’s still in search of escape routes." (our emphasis)
Exhibit A in searching for an "escape route" was the desperate, bloody and treasonous last ditch attempt by his raging cult to overturn the 2020 election by storming the Capitol on January 6. Trump's fantasy was that the pro-forma counting of electoral votes by the Senate could be stopped so that his political stooges could mount challenges in key swing states. He played this last "get out of jail" card as his term ran out, and his immunity ceased.
So to be clear about why he's strongly suggesting that he'll run in 2024, it's not about his MAGA cult. McManus again on why he's running (at least for now):
"Ego, surely, in part. A desire to take revenge on his adversaries, too.
But two practical reasons, as well.
One is money. Political contributions may be the most reliable revenue stream the Trump family enterprise has at the moment.
The other, equally important, is to bolster his legal defense. As long as he’s running (or even sort of running), Trump can denounce every inquest and subpoena as just another part of a political vendetta. It’s a way to hold his troops together — and to make every prosecutor think twice.
He’s notching up another presidential first: He’s running for reelection to stay out of jail." (our emphasis)
The "t's" need to be crossed and "i's" dotted in prosecutions as high profile and unprecedented as those against Trump. But they can't be stalled or subject to intimidation, lest Trump perform another Houdini act and destroy our democracy.
(Photoshop: Trump's nightmare)
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