4 Comments
User's avatar
тна Return to thread
Carol S.'s avatar

He played the "rigged election" theme leading up to 2016 election too,, just not as heavily as in 2020. I think in 2016 he didn't necessarily want to be president; he just wanted a way to claim that he didn't actually lose a fair contest. And IIRC he subsequently claimed that he would have won the popular vote in 2016 if not for cheating.

Expand full comment
R Mercer's avatar

My general sense is that Trump rn as a promotional gig to revitalize his brand. He did not really expect to win and probably (if he thought about it honestly) did not want to win.

There was no real upside for Trump in actually winning... as we ended up seeing. It brought to light many things he would have preferred not be seen and is probably going to cost him a lot of money and maybe even his company in the end.

After it all plays out, I seriously doubt the bit of graft he got out of it will make up for what he loses. He could have made more money and had all the adoration if he had lost (and the loss would not have been his fault because it was "rigged.").

Expand full comment
Carol S.'s avatar

He seems to have lost money by being president, much as he tried to monetize the presidency, but he gained a bigger, more fanatical cult following than he could have dreamed of, and even the fawning praise of some "intellectuals" who should know better. If there's one thing that Trump cares about more than wealth, or being perceived as very wealthy, it's adulation. And he got it without having to put much actual work into presidential duties, since he had other people to do that.

Expand full comment
R Mercer's avatar

Balanced against that adulation is the awareness that even more people than his followers have come to hate and despise him. The thing is, he could have probably had the adulation if he had stuck to the media end after a losing run at President... and would probably be less hated.

Expand full comment