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| Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping |
Donald Trump is seeking the presidency in 2024 because he wants to stay out of prison -- not only in the near term, but for the rest of his life. And he can only do that by remaining president as long as he wants, and if he is elected in '24, that means Trump intends to stay in office for the rest of his life.
That stunning scenario -- some might call it sickening, and I would be among them -- comes from an opinion piece by Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic (TNR). Is Tomasky off his rocker? I don't think so. Trump, it appears, has two primary talents: (1) Taking actions and saying things that benefit one person, himself; and (2) Playing a large chunk of the American public -- in this case, people who would support him with their votes -- for fools.
In Tomasky's view, most people who dream big enough to become president want to serve the public good -- at least a little bit. But not Trump; he just wants to keep his double-wide ass out of jail. Even our first president thought about his place in history, but it's unlikely such high-minded thoughts have entered Trump's mind. He just wants to save his own double-wide ass, and becoming "president for life" would do the trick. Under the headline "Donald Trump Is Running to Stay Out of Prison. Say It, Democrats! Every president has thought about how history would judge him. Forty-five has more immediate concerns." Tomasky writes:
As we watch indictments of Donald Trump pile up, I am reminded that presidents all think about their place in history. George Washington did—he was careful, for example, not to do certain things that would carry the whiff of monarchical ambition. He eschewed a third term that he could easily have won because he knew that he was setting the precedent for all who would follow him.
Viewed in this light, Trump’s run to return to the White House might be seen as his attempt at vindication after a narrow defeat in 2020. Although in Trump’s case, one might put it less loftily: Trump, ever the emotional 5-year-old, is livid that Joey’s Marky Sparky Blast Pad Rocket is bigger and cooler than his and the kids like Joey better. So he’s running to right that grievous historical wrong.
Yeah, he wants to be president. He wants to corrupt and destroy democracy, bask in the radioactive glow of his sycophants’ blubbery praise over his perfect phone calls to Putin, start the mother of all culture wars, and all that. But mostly: He wants to stay out of prison.
Trump's own words in a recent town hall with Fox News' Sean Hannity show he is thinking long term -- and not in a way designed to benefit you or me. Writes Tomasky:
And in fact, these aren’t really different reasons. As in a cheap tapestry that unravels if you pull on one thread, everything here is connected. For example: Part of Trump’s plan to destroy democracy is no doubt to figure out a way to make himself president for life. Did you notice Trump’s praise for Xi Jinping in his recent sit-down with Sean Hannity? “Think of President Xi. Central casting, brilliant guy. You know, when I say he’s brilliant, everyone says, ‘Oh that’s terrible.’ Well, he runs 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. Smart, brilliant, everything perfect.”
Many Americans probably have no idea how scary that quote should really sound. But Tomasky clues them in:
It’s worth mentioning as an aside that about a month ago, the New Zealand–based Human Rights Measurement Initiative found China to be the worst country in the world with respect to its own citizens’ rights. When you’ve topped North Korea, you’ve really made it. That Trump calls this “perfect” is another hint at what he has in mind for his restoration, and if that quote doesn’t terrify you, you’re sleepwalking.
But the main point is this: His admiration for Xi obviously is built around the fact that Xi has eliminated dissent and cleared the decks to run China forever. We should take a moment to revisit how he did this. Back in 2018, the National People’s Congress, or NPC, voted to end the two-term limit for presidents. The vote was 2,958–2 (with three abstaining). Then, this March, the NPC endorsed Xi’s third term. That vote was 2,952–0. I wonder where those five went between the first vote and the second.
Why would Trump want to be president for life? He's shown little, if any, interest in governing -- you know, doing the stuff that comes with being leader of the free world. And we have four years' worth of evidence that he is bad at the job. But, Tomasky submits, there is one BIG reason Trump wants to be president in an ongoing fashion -- in perpetuity, you might say:
What are the advantages of being president for life? Free housing, free travel, endless opportunities to grift your gullible followers, all the Thousand Island dressing you could dream of. But the biggest perk of all? No one can throw your corrupt ass in jail. At least not now, not how our laws are written and have been interpreted.
As we know, it is official Justice Department policy that sitting presidents can’t be prosecuted. So for Trump, being president for the next four years would in essence wipe these indictments off the books. As for criminal trials that started before he was sworn in on January 20, 2025, should he win? Easy peasy. He can pardon himself. Come on. You think he wouldn’t do it? You think he couldn’t count on the right-wing media to endorse it as no big whoop and look at those stupid fulminating libtards, along with a chorus of right-wing, Leonard Leo–anointed constitutional “scholars” to explain why it’s all fine?
That's the scariest part of this whole scenario. Is there anyone with the chutzpah, the stones, the bravado to keep Trump from running roughshod over the American democracy? (Attorney General Merrick Garland? Don't make me laugh. The FBI's Christopher Wray? Stop it, you're causing me to blow milk out of my nose.)
Speaking of the attorney general -- and we are talking about one Trump would appoint -- that position likely is a central part of his plan. Writes Tomasky:
Of course all that would happen. And Trump would make sure he had an attorney general who would agree with him on every point. In fact, my bet today for who will be Donald Trump’s attorney general if he wins? Donald Trump. Yes. Think about it. It makes so much sense that it almost worries me that my brain is even able to go there.
And beyond 2029: Why stop at four years? Why risk it? Get the Constitution suspended, and get in there for life. Then you can break all the laws you want forever.
In sum: The time to get Trump is now. Aileen Cannon has evidently figured out that she’s only in her early 40s and is going to be around long after Trump is gone and had better worry at least a little about her post-Trump reputation and has scheduled the classified documents trial for next May (37 counts). He’s also sweating the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, which is going to trial next March (34 counts). Of course, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has 13 counts in Georgia. And the number of counts in Jack Smith's January 6 incitement case is uncertain.
Tomasky has advice -- for Democrats and the country:
The law will do what the law does. But in terms of politics, the Democrats have to keep all this front and center and just repeat over and over again that Trump has four places he might be living two years hence: Mar-a-Lago, the White House, a federal prison, or (a bit of a long shot, but not impossible) a Russian dacha along the Black Sea just south of lovely Gelendzhik. He’s running for president to stay out of the slammer. That’s about as lofty as this gangster’s historical aspirations get.
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