From Peter Nicholas' article in The Atlantic about the game the Malignant Loser and insurrectionist riot instigator Donald "Loser" Trump is playing:
"Trump’s most potent means of retaining his hold on his party is perpetuating the idea that he’ll be back on the ballot in three years. Whether he goes through with launching a reelection campaign may be beside the point. Stepping aside would be tantamount to inviting a slew of Republican candidates to jump in the 2024 presidential-nomination race and fill the space he’s vacating. Trump is not about to let his relevancy plummet.
'Imagine what would happen if he said, "After careful consideration, I won’t be a candidate in 2024,"' John Bolton, the former Trump White House national security adviser, told me. 'You can hear the spotlight switches turning off. He’ll talk about it [running for president again] right up until the point when he doesn’t.'" (our emphasis)
Trump knows that teasing a 2024 run is a cash cow for him, as he cons his loyal cult into sending cash to him or various political action committees that he controls. He's raised millions after his ignominious departure from Washington, by keeping the seditionist flame and his Big Lie alive along with the delusions of his cult members. As the Atlantic article notes, the narcissistic obsession Trump has with remaining in the public spotlight keeps him playing the Republican / New Confederate / Active Shooter Party's kingmaker and its presumptive nominee. Thus, he won't withdraw his name any time soon -- barring a health emergency -- because it's too lucrative and soothing to his damaged ego. Of course, there's also the tantalizing thought, expressed by Trump himself, that he'll form his own party to get revenge on his current party, which he believes was insufficiently treasonous and insane to support his coup attempt on January 6. Let's hope that's still on the table.
