It’s the evening of December 10, 2019, after the Democrats announced their anticlimactic popgun of two impeachment charges. Donald Trump’s 2020 Strategy just popped into my head. I haven’t had most of these ideas before and haven’t seen them written anywhere else before, so I want right of first appearance.
The script outline for Trump’s reality-show television presidency just fell into place.
- The rest of December 2019 the Democrats will finalize and vote on impeachment
- January 2020 the impeachment show moves to the Senate where Trump finally gets to tell his side of the story for a couple of weeks (two weeks free campaign advertising). In a foregone conclusion, the Senate votes to exonerate Trump.
- February-March: Trump goes on a victory tour, with multiple rallies each week in major campaign states. Meanwhile, the Democrats slog through their primaries, most likely beating each other to shreds. By the end of March, more than 50% of all ballots (and delegates) will be committed. The Democrats will probably have coalesced around one or two very liberal and one or two centrist candidates, none having a clear majority or path. It won’t matter because…
- In April/May, Trump tweets that he wants to test the waters on a new vice presidential candidate for 2020, while saying that Pence is still his man. Trump then basically runs an Apprentice style open candidacy for the VP slot, entertaining different candidates, interviewing them one-on-one, bringing them to rallies. Pence may even appear to be the front runner at this point.
- The Democratic convention in July in Milwaukee bursts with energy (as much as anything ever does in Milwaukee) as the party tries to finally decide which candidate is their final choice to go up against Trump, but they’re also handcuffed by the number of delegates committed before they knew Trump was considering changing VPs.
- Right after the Democratic convention, the VP Apprentice show kicks into high gear. Trump holds several rounds of live debates on Fox to see which candidates really garner national energy and commitment from the base. These shows, by design, will whip the base into a frenzy. They will culminate on the second night of August’s Republican convention when the “winner” of the VP stakes (almost certainly not Pence, maybe Nikki Haley or whomever has emerged from the pack (Hannity?)…it won’t deeply matter to Trump) is finally announced by Trump himself on the convention stage. Pandemonium ensues. The Republicans leave Charlotte more fired up than ever.
- The general election race is exuberant and all-consuming. The Democrats, having chosen their candidate based on beating Trump, have a lot of energy and momentum. But the Republicans are also fully committed to winning with Trump and their new Apprentice VP for whom the Democrats hadn’t really prepared. Trump may even start hinting that he doesn’t plan to complete his term so the VP choice is ever more important. Trump’s rallies get bigger and bigger.
- Trump most likely wins the election in the electoral college again, not by a landslide but he’ll say it is. He’s first impeached president to win re-election, fully exonerated. The best ever!
- For the first half of 2021, Trump goes on a victory tour across the nation and around the world, rubbing everyone’s noses in his triumph. Begins planning blowout 4th of July party on the Mall.
- A few weeks before the 4th of July, Trump announces that he will resign. Doesn’t want to be a lame duck president, wants to put power in the hands of his gleaming new VP. Invites Democrats and Republicans to come together across the country on July 4th to wish him farewell. Four million people (the biggest crowd ever!) descend on the Mall for full day of celebrations. Republicans get the area from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial for their show, Democrats and PBS-types gather at the Capitol for their traditional celebration. World’s biggest fireworks blast into the night. Everybody’s happy.
- On July 5th, Trump watches beatifically as new President is inaugurated on White House lawn. Trump leaves White House on Marine One, leaving the keys of power and a world full of troubles in the hands of the new President.
- The story is only beginning for Trump. Time to cash in. He announces a partnership with the Murdochs giving Trump (and family) controlling interest in Fox News. He proceeds to set himself up as Lord/God/King of the Republicans, weighing in on policies and issues of the day as he pleases, anointing candidates, berating all opposition and having a grand old time. He signs huge (the hugest!) book and movie deals for his stories, and so do all his family members. He gets back in the hotel and real estate game with a vengeance, setting his kids up with empires of their own. Finally builds the tallest building in the world: Trump Tower Moscow…or maybe it’s in Mumbai or North Korea — wherever someone else will pay for it. His brand value balloons to unprecedented heights. He rides the wave like a giant orange Macy’s balloon for the rest of his years. The greatest of all time…if he says so himself.
- Even if he loses the election (which will have been the VP’s fault, not Trump’s…oh, plus the Democrat/Deep State rigging of the system), his post-presidency nirvana is still achieved, just a bit sooner and without the blowout 4th of July party. He wins either way.
It’s not like I’m happy about this scenario, but it seems plausible and hard to stop, given the current environment. I think Trump can’t resist running for a second term to take a shot at winning again, against all the odds and pundits. I also don’t think he’d actually want to complete a second term, and in fact would want to get out as quickly as possible, before the stock market tanks or he has to face mid-term losses. The VP sweepstakes would be a game changing beauty contest, made for TV, and I think would really energize and engage his base.
Prove me wrong.