Trump likely won’t risk losing again

While 2020 wasn’t the dystopian future of George Orwell’s “1984,” it was pretty dystopian nonetheless. How else to view four years of unchecked authoritarian power grabs, precipitous withdrawals from international agreements, lack of support for allies and admiration for dictators, violation of norms and laws without consequence, repetition of cynical lies and blatant acts of corruption, use of self-serving propaganda, refusal to protect caregivers in the face of massive death, persecution of immigrants and their children, uninhibited misogyny, clumsy attempts to prevent some citizens from voting, propagation of dangerous conspiracies reinforced by social media, justification of unresolved racial and gender discrimination, inaction regarding recorded instances of law enforcement abuses, violent obstruction of civil liberties, unacknowledged responsibility for widespread economic hardship and denial of the science that shows our planet is in peril?

Will Trump run again in 2024? How much more can we endure? In 2024, will independents and women believe Trump’s leadership skills improved? Will anyone believe an angry, bitter and older Trump would acknowledge mistakes or waste fewer hours Fox-gazing, Twitter-spewing and generating conspiracy? Will Trump cease to demand unfettered personal fealty? Will he stop whining that a majority of Americans stole from him what was rightfully his? At some point, his elected, appointed and televised enablers will recognize that 80 million-plus Americans voted to get rid of him because of his failure and not because of a rigged election, and those sycophants will abandon him.

Will he try to make a comeback despite these setbacks? No. Trump’s ego cannot bear the possibility of being branded a two-time loser. His enormous debt and legal culpability will render him impotent. His house of cards will collapse. The unpatriotic and irresponsible gasps of a president drowning in self-pity will be seen as pathetic and delusional. This, combined with his scorched-Earth exodus from the White House, makes obvious his deep awareness that he won’t be back.

In 2024, any Republican with a history of collaborating with Trump would be at a huge disadvantage against Vice President Harris (the presumptive Democratic candidate). Why? The country will have benefited from four years of leaders who are smart, experienced, reasonable and competent. Despite any remnants of Trumpism in Congress, the country will have come to expect new leaders who are committed to doing the hard work to get things accomplished, even if it takes compromise or hurts them politically. We hope in 2024 there will emerge a group of dedicated and responsible Republican candidates who have the skill and desire to serve, people whose values and conduct are worthy of our respect and trust.