A popular political parlor game is trying to guess whether the Malignant Loser will elbow other Republican candidates aside for a run in 2024. Much depends on looming civil and criminal legal battles, e.g., in New York and Georgia, and whether the Justice Department files charges related to the insurrection, based on their investigation and /or that of the January 6 Congressional Committee. Although there are fanatic Trumpists who would support their cult leader in any scenario including from prison, some ambitious neo-fascists like Florida COVID supporter and squinty- eyed weasel Gov. Ron "One Glove" DeSantis would abandon the Malignant Loser (if not his cult) the moment he lands in court.
One more clear- eyed observer of the political stakes is former Trump White House spokesperson Stephanie Grisham, who spoke to MSNBC's Alex Witt earlier today about a Trump run, and what he'd do if America were insane enough to elect him:
"I believe he's waiting to see what happens in the '22 midterms. I think that if a lot of his more radical candidates that he's backing get into Congress, he'll run, because he'll feel empowered to do so. I do believe that if he is our next president, again, all the guardrails will be off.
"He won't have to worry about running for reelection. When I was in the Trump White House, there was a common saying that senior staff would say -- Jared Kushner was one of them -- that's a 'second term project,' meaning we're going to wait and do the more crazy, draconian things until the second term.
"I also believe wholeheartedly it was [sic] a revenge tour. Anybody and everybody who spoke out against him, he'll be speaking revenge against. I don't think he'll be looking at it as what's best for our country anymore, it will be what's best for him and how do I get back at all the people who dared to defy me." (our emphasis)
His first term was about revenge, too: against President Obama for mocking him at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, against Hillary Clinton for accurately exposing him as "Putin's puppet," against those who exposed his corruption in the 2016 election, and more. So too, it was all about him the last time, mentally unstable raging narcissist that he has always been. If he's looking at the 2022 midterm elections for a signal, let's give him one by electing Dems and holding the House and increasing the number of Dem Senators.
(photo: Brendan Smialowski AFP via Getty Images)
