Trump is the greatest!
2
Let him rant and rage from a prison cell.
50
You are a gifted language artist Mr.Bruni.
And on the subject of that Louse in the White House, no one says it more pointedly and more comically than you.
17
Yes, it's likely that we will "never, ever be rid of Donald Trump." But we do have other options.
The movie director Mel Brooks once said that one of his life/career goals was to get the world laughing at Adolf Hitler. I think that Mr. Brooks understood that we'd never really be rid of Hitler, either, but we sure could ridicule him, even posthumously, into absurdity. Let's make Trump into a joke! "Springtime for Donald in Washington," anyone?
42
And this just in:
Trump admin won't give temporary protected status to Bahamians who fled Hurricane Dorian
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-admin-will-deny-temporary-protected-status-bahamians-who-fled-n1052561
What a cruel, soulless creature can do this.
So now is this who we're, that's how we're perceived around the globe...and if anything tragic, god forbid like 9/11 happens to us, don't count for any help from our allies.
He is VILE!
29
Yeah, and hopefully he'll be doing all that without his cellphone from inside a prison cell. He and his Eric and Donald Jr. and Ivanka and Jared.
24
We will also never (at least for a generation or two) be rid of Trump apologists that make up 25 - 40% of the electorate. Regardless of the true count, a significant amount of U.S. citizenry believe everything he says or tweets.
More damning to the condition of the country than an absolute clown elected to the Presidency is the magnitude of the populace that is one or more of the following: apathetic, racist, compassionless, gullible, ignorant, or unpatriotic.
Note - just because one wears a flag pin or MAGA cap, or believes that it their god-given right to own an automatic weapon, does not make them a patriot.
25
Not to dishonor a homeboy from my own state, but Trump is the very best example of the PT Barnum Syndrome. America's most favorite character is the bigmouthed blowhard who lies big, steals big, make the normals clutch their pearls, & completely gets away with it. Sounds familiar?
13
WHEN will he be charged with TREASON already?????? I seriously do not know how his disclosure to Putin regarding how we knew about his meddling, and his denial of the U.S. CIA telling him we have evidence of the violation, and the removal of an invaluable operative can not be treasonous. WAKE UP AMERICA. Maybe then we will in fact be rid of him and his disgusting offspring.
28
I think we will be rid of trump. We are exhausted. After he's gone, hopefully sooner rather than later, no one, other than his white supremacist base, will give a flak about him. Fox News may appease him for a bit, but they will eventually tire. Speaking tours? There's nothing thoughtful or reflective for him to say. Writing a book? He can't even tweet a few cohesive sentences together. A presidential library? Sure, a library of Little Golden Books, coloring books and Dick and Jane books. This baby-man will only be available to rally for southern white nationalist-leaning Republican candidates. And I hope the media shuts him off. Ivanka and Don Jr. are toast. They're plastic-looking and creepy. They're Ivy-educated and unintelligent. They're gilded and shallow. The Trump name is tarnished and will conjure up the worst of humanity. The Trump surname will join the ranks of Hitler, Mussolini, Manson, bin Laden, Dahmer, Epstein, Bundy, McVeigh, Stalin, and Madoff. No one speaks these names without recoiling in disgust. Trump and his family are criminals. They have lied, stolen, and slandered their way to fame and fortune (although the “fortune” part is highly questionable). Trump and his sleazy family will carry his loathsome legacy of lies for generations to come.
34
There is one way to get rid of this gross aberration. Once he is removed from office in 2020, the news media must completely IGNORE him. Don't punish his tweets. Follow his every move or word. The best way to be rid of Donald Trump is to STOP giving him so much media oxygen. Sure it is good for ratings--everyone wants to know what new horror the Buffon is up to. But it is the only way to get beyond Trump. Turn off the spotlight.
21
True MAGA is paying for your crimes. I hope Trump realizes his true MAGA sometime soon.
3
Do they allow sharpies in jail?
9
Lock him up.
And then take away his Twitter account.
That would be a fate worse than death for him.
14
Or what if, the day after he leaves office, mainstream media never reports on him again and cuts off the hydra’s head once and for all? NYT and others are as bad a Fox News giving that grifter life through press coverage. Render him irrelevant and the nation may actually stand a chance at healing in time.
13
First off, he will never be sent to prison. Ever. And I hate that. However, he is literally loosing his mind and we are watching it. That's how we get rid of him
Maybe, he will just run out of the WH naked and screaming about his inaugural crowd size. For fun, maybe the guys in white coats with butterfly nets capture him. Anyway, 'people are saying'.....
12
Or, he'll leave the White House in handcuffs...and happily, we'll hear little or anything from him..
6
Just to let you know, republicans, I'm an America-loving, community-serving democrat. Mr. Vulgar projects his own thinking and behaviors on us, like telling you that dems "hate America", but take note trump base: I fly the flag and I celebrate the Fourth of July, and I care about my country, my neighbors.
Don't let a groper tell you what to believe or you may be believed to be just like him. Do you grope women? Would you approve of him groping your daughter or wife? Do you lie? Do you cheat? Do you mock or spew hate on those who of a different color or physically challenged? Are you like trump and is that why you like him? I think you are him. You own it.
10
I shudder to think what POTUS is capable of if he loses the election between Nov and January. Hang on.
2
I was hoping that finally justice would prevail and that Trump would end up in jail. What will it take for people to lose their obsession with that psychotic evil clown pretending to be POTUS? Economy in tatters? Nuclear apocalypse?
9
He has not paid for his crimes yet (except for hush money to a porn star and a Playboy bunny and those weren't even crimes). How he's stayed out of prison to date is a testament to white privilege and laws and loopholes written to protect the rich.
If there is a God he will not be reelected. I don't care if it's by one vote or an historic landslide. His supporters can crawl back under their rocks whence they came.
7
Trump’s popularity is easily the most disturbing thing about him and his administration. It’s shocking to realize that so many of our fellow citizens admire a lying ego-maniac.
Trump fails in all categories of moral character. Further, he is both ignorant and stupid, a dangerous combination.
Irrespective of how he leaves office, his followers will continue to embrace his lies and tolerate his corruption. We are not through with him.......
9
Live by the media....Die by the media.....
All that needs to happen is that every media source
shuts him up permanently......After all it was, in part, the free
ad time he got (worth in the billions) that put him in in the Presidency......and now we need pay back....NO COVERAGE.
He's only as present as his latest "sound bite"......pull the
plug and stop the presses......
His 15 minutes of fame is over......
8
His screech may be mooted if he's bellowing from behind prison walls.
3
Trump has succeded where no President ever has........he gave Sharpies a bad name.
6
Individual 1 will be in prison!
3
Trump has raped the soul of the US. This person, pushing himself on us, unwilling partners to his megalomania. Americans' collective PTSD will last through much of our lifetimes.
10
Inside every Republican is a Trump trying to get out.
Stepping on cockroaches won't make a dent in their population but it does provide relief.
Stomp on those cockroaches at the polls every chance you get!
1
All things are cyclical and this too shall pass. I grew up during the Vietnam war. The times were a strong call for change. We created change. We are witnessing a call for change once again. I firmly believe that #45 and its ‘basket of deplorables’ will ooze back into their dark hole and hibernate. It’s up to us to remember. It’s up to us to vote for change.
10
Let a wall of silence surround Trump and his nitwit Tweets!
4
It wasn't over in Italy,
till they dragged Mussolini through the streets.
Incarceration will work here...
Only because we haven't been depraved by a Fascist World War he help create...
1
Sometimes in the evening after I turn off the Trump Follies, i.e. the television news, I hear that old Stones song:
"Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game"
No, Trump's not the devil, he isn't anywhere near smart enough, but he is perhaps a useful idiot for the Prince of Darkness.
5
You know what would help, starting now? Stop plastering his photo on every article that mentions him or might mention him.
Just stop. Please.
10
Trump will always be with us that's true. But he will be the beacon of the racists, the under-educated, the ignorant amongst us who are to say it plainly, ignorant and stupid. A MAGA hat will forever brand the wearer as sure as wearing a Klan hood. Trump will remain with us like a skunk sprayed dog. The smell mostly goes away until it gets wet and the smell returns. Trumps followers have been around since the Civil War, George Wallace and Strom Thurmond. We just have to hold our noses and breath the fresh air when we can. His stain on America is akin to the stain of slavery, which is why he's there at all.
6
No. He'll be living in a prison cell wondering why Melania doesn't visit him.
3
Yes we will. He will die.
1
Only Stormy Daniels scared Trump. What does that say about this ingrate?
3
He has opened the gate to hate and self interest. He will be dead in 10 years but he has destroyed our nation
1
It is time to stop paying constant attention to that man's uncouth silliness. That is no longer news and noticing those behaviors panders to his need for attention.
Report news. Stop reporting and commenting on temperament, rudeness and stupid tweets.
4
If Frank is correct then it is a sad day for America that Trump will impact America after he is turfed from office in 2020.The answer? Lock him up!
3
Mr. Bruni, if we can just get this accursed president out of the White House, I'll be satisfied. Dealing with the fallout can be left until after we breathe a collective sigh of relief and take our first deep breath in years.
4
OMG. Af further depression settles in, I'm left speechless with this speculation. I believe it.
1
He will still try to be in the front of everyone's mind when he is gone. He may even be looking into how he can become a big head in the sky, like Woody Allen's mother in New York Stories. He probably thinks he can do it with holograms or something.
But we won't let him.
2
I wish it ain't so...Could live many lifetimes without ever hearing the word "Trump" again.... It's more than enough to make the most die hard believer in Life After Death hope there is none.
1
It'll be curious to see how much America wants democracy (or a republic, hah), versus an apartheid one-party fascist neo-theocracy.
The degree of Trump's influence (and the GOP's) will determine that fate for the nation.
The majority of Americans aren't Trumpists and/or Republicans, but maybe one-third of the country would love fascism. That's the indelible stain that'll endure far longer than Trump's "legacy" -- Trump's always been a symptom, not a cause, of what we're facing.
4
Just as Dr. Frankenstein was the creator of the destructive monster, the Oligarch ridden, republican party is the creator of this latest abomination. Only a resounding electoral defeat of republicans in the senate, house and WH will instigate the cleansing and rebuilding of our current "trumplican" party into something beneficial to our country. 45 may be only the beginning of this new, more ugly, destructive leader.
2
Trump 2024!!!!!
I couldn't help myself but if Trump is the worse thing to happen to you maybe you had it to easy.
Oh, by the way I know Presidents are limited to two terms but you deserve him for three.
1
My hope is he is in prison for various crimes and has no access to tweet.
2
And wait for the White House insider memoirs claiming "if it were not for me . . . "
Nancy Pelosi could rid America of Trump and Trumpism forever, if she only allowed impeachment to come to past.
That's a really scary narrative, Frank Bruni, albeit likely realistic prediction. Thanks for the nightmares....
1
Frank, Sharpie points for a great column. I must point out one thing though. You assume it will be the Warrens getting out of a limo at 1600 Penn for the official meet and greet.
Why not the Bidens or the Sanders? Have you now informed us that Liz is your pick?
It would not be surprising to see this president jetting off to Moscow after he leaves the White House. What is unknown is if Putin will give him asylum when the SDNY unseals it's indictments.
2
I agree that Trump will not go silently into the night. He will be a non-stop blowhard, shouting to whatever outlet gives him a platform, "I told you so," "I would have done it better," and "what a loser." If the Republicans think they can turn the page when Trump is back in New York, and Melania is wherever, they are seriously deluding themselves. In fact, I think that Trump will use a 2020 defeat as to a prelude to his greatest Trumpian triumph, a 2024 bid, absolutely paralyzing the Republican party.
Trump is a creature of the media, and has a loud voice simply because he is given a platform. At some point, however, people will begin to realize that he is like the obnoxious drunk at a party, and walk away. We all will be better off when that day arrives.
3
If that pig doesn't end up in prison, (after a trial of course and conviction) I will totally lose faith in our judicial system.
5
I wish I could see the historical record over the next 100 years. What will then be the perspective on Trump, Inc. ?
It is interesting to speculate on how it is going to go down in history.
How long can cray-cray rule before we rebel???
1
Can he do all this from prison?
It's easy to imagine that, lacking the legal armor of an unindictable presidency, his actions exposed to bright legal light will show him to be a crook.
2
This despicable man will eventually leave office, but the sad contempt I feel for the people I know who voted for him will probably never fade away.
5
You all in the media owe it to the rest of us to take the light off of him. Sure, he can tweet and he can hold rallies, but for the love of God, reasonable people in the media need to focus attention on anything but Trump. How much ink have you wasted covering his outrages? How much air time have late night comedians spent cataloguing his daily stupidity? Pete Buttiegieg has it right: it is the nature of grotesque things that we cannot look away, but when Trump is no longer president, please please take the focus off of Trump.
4
Isn't Trump going to be prosecuted and go to prison for the rest of his life after he leaves the White House? Why not?
2
Wake up and get real, Frank Bruni! It's not the Trumps who will be forever with us no matter who wins at what level in 2020...It's the Trump voters who will be with us forever!
The United States is doomed. The combination of our democratic national elections based on Electoral rather than popular votes means that Trump voters will decide who our next president will be - and the one after than, ant the one after that....and......and.....
We are doomed by dumbness. Our media is managed. The reality of the Trump voters is propaganda perpetrated by Fox News and its immitators/descendants, etc., etc.
Democracy has failed and now we see why. It's failing for similar reasons in our homeland, England.
Sorry, but its not about the Trumps. It's about our ingrained and self-perpetuating, deliberate supidity.
2
He is a stain on world history. Shame on us for elevating a man who should have been a minor footnote in history to such a level of notoriety. I long for the times when i did not have to see his accursed name every single day. And then only as a joke on The Daily Show.
2
Let’s hope the SDNY will indict Trump the moment he leaves office. Next a jury of fair minded citizens will put him in jail. No mobile phone.No tweets. Just welcome silence from the ex president. Level headed persons will deal with the remaining members of the Trump crime family.
1
Right. Donald Trump is the epitome of a new civilization.
unfortunately, the author is correct. Trump not only WON'T go away, he also won't shut up, and he has also, unfortunately, procreated, so once again I am considering leaving my country, unless the Democrats can band together. I would like my declining years to be Trumpless.
1
Why can't we hope that he will be in jail for his many crimes? That might help to shut him up.
Send him to jail. We will never-ever beat this guy until he’s behind bars. NEVER. Get it?
... and that's why he needs to be serving a LONG sentence in Leavenworth.
Um, he'll be in jail.
The Trump library will be a gold-plated thumb drive with all his tweets cataloged inside.
1
Given the felony charges that seems to be coming down the pike, Mr Trump and possibly family may very well end up in orange fashion suits and no ability to tweet and rant. The man has made this country anxious, depressed, and fearful. If, God willing, there is a Blue Wave in 2020, those folks will be cleaning up after the 4 year storm for 4 years. Broken stuff everywhere.
Vote as if your life depended on it.
We can be free of him if he can be successfully transplanted from the White House to the "Big House". Don't think they allow tweeting from there. There are indications that this is not out of the question unless there is a second term and the putative felon can surpass the statute of limitation.
All true, except not if he's in jail.
Thank you Jon. Your comment captured it. You defined it so well! I am not sure how many of us actually understand it fully.
Only one thing stood out for me and it is the most important: He will no longer have the nuclear codes. Fine with me.
The press were complicit when they covered Trump's questions about where Obama was born.
I wondered at the time.....who cares what he thinks?
The press saw it as a way to get readers and viewers.
And make money.
Will the press be able to control themselves in the future when this nightmare is over?
It seems to me that the inability of the world to come to grips with shocking leaders and the ability of a small yet powerful minority to ignore ANY constraints is something the human race has battled with since "forever". Watching the outrageous antics of our current crop of global leaders (Trump, Netanyahu, Putin, Johnson ... right through to now deceased Robert Mugabe) I am shocked by how little control opposition leaders really have - so many tweeting "to ensure this never happens again" - only to have the exact same thing happen over and over again...
More and more evidence presents itself that Trump won 2016 by cheating. Recently a congresswoman said she is not allowed to tell the public which 4 counties in Florida were compromised or how. This has been a slow drip, drip, drip which is slowly and methodically killing our democracy.
Why aren’t we screaming for a recount?
1
I just realized the way to be rid of him was to just stop reading this article and instead reading poetry by Rumi:
"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."
And now, completely rid of him.
The two worst dates of the 21st century, 9/11 and 11/9.
I have never been perfect at anything, but I am perfectly in hate with Trump. The breadth of this feeling amazes me. It is so absolute. So cutting. It is something dangerous with sharp edges. It gets in my way and obstructs my breathing. I can't get around it. I have never experienced anything like it. If I could only love like this!
I'm more concerned that a president Warren, or Biden, will have every piece of their agenda blocked and stalled by McConnell and Company. Barack Obama fought like a caged tiger (in his own quiet, analytic way) to get some sort of healthcare plan through, to save the US economy, etc. I dread to think of the obstruction and nastiness that awaits our next president.
Yes -- we will be rid of him -- because Americans have brilliantly short-term memories. We just don't learn from our mistakes and will unfortunately have a another clown to write about. Luckily, the world is aware of America's adolescent behavior, knowing full well the clowns will be there for only 4-8 years and then disappear into the sunset. If you have trouble ridding yourself of Trump, next time he's mentioned, picture a president reading a children's book upside down and if wars are mentioned, think of the president who invaded a country on false information which is still ongoing in the death and destruction of civilizations. Plus, think how small the Trump presidential library will be with just tweets.
1
"Trump" has always been there within America. In WWF fake wrestling shows, in Monster Truck meet ups, in Jerry Springfield, in Las Vegas, TV Evangelists, All you can east buffets, Antivaxxers, Infomercials, National Enquirer, Time Shares, Black Thursday Shopping stampedes, and so on.
The rest of America chose to ignore it. To pretend that it existed in some parallel world. All Trump really did is that he sold this part of America on politics as a form of entertainment. They used to ignore it and be bored by it. Now they are up and arms and chanting Fox News boiler plate.
Will economic downturn put this trashy genie back in the bottle? Time will tell. But the divide will always be there now.
2
It's time to start a national campaign to fire Trump on Twitter. If millions do it he may get the message. Donald J. Trump, You're fired!
1
Let us devoutly hope that the place where Trump will spend his post-presidential years is in a supermax federal prison after he is convicted on numerous charges of tax evasion, bribery, witness-tampering, sedition and incitement to violence, and God-know-what-else (including, perhaps treason)--not to speak of a host of crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of such states as New York and Florida.
For this to happen, let us additionally hope that Trump, his children, and his cronies are blocked from fleeing to some foreign land that refuses to extradite him. And legal steps will have to be taken to block outgoing (and newly ascended) President Pence from pardoning him on January 19, 2021.
It will certainly help if RICO is invoked upon Trump's conviction for federal and state crimes, so that he and his family are stripped of all his assets. Let him die in prison, broke and silenced.
1
Frank you are to defeatist. You have given up on our good people. America is going in the wrong direction now but that will change. It's happened before and probably will happen again. The market doesn't go straight up and the path of evolution isn't straight or progressive either. Before we as a society can evolve, a dominant majority must cast off the past and how we got here. We got here because of lies. Lies by Ronald Reagan. We got here because Bush I raised taxes and some people decided not to vote for him and we got Clinton. Clinton lied and cheated on his wife which cost Gore the election. Democrats flail too much because they don't get everything they want when they want it. Democrats are making mistakes by not admitting we need reasonable border security and an immigration policy that is rational. We need a national healthcare system for those who want it and allow private sector care for those who pay for it separately, and additionally. We need to be tough and principled. Obama was too nice to the Republicans because he was too worried about being cast as the "Angry Black Man". Playing nice never assuaged a bully. They see "reasonableness" as weakness. Trump and McConnell have no sense of decency and never did. They are paid to promote corruption. If you want change then you have fight for it and vote. And don't sulk, and stop whining like a wimp. It's time to impeach Trump and show all of America we want to do what is right, and will fight for it, relentlessly.
1
He'll end up where Sarah Palin has. Entertaining for a few years, less and less relevant and interesting. Then, nothing more than a side note on the event of his latest divorce.
Assuming he doesn't end up prosecuted.
He'll definitely be hard to forget if get convicted of any of his many crimes.
1
The Trump show has kidnapped and monopolized our national attention. Here's hoping that it isn't renewed in 2020.
1
But 45 and his equally corrupt toadies and greed-heads won't be actively destroying the planet and lurching from one national debacle to the next on a hourly basis, so he'll be much easier to tune out.
President Warren (or Harris or even Biden) will be a breath of calm, fresh rational air compared to the daily gaudy, nightmarish spectacle of 45 and his grabbing, grubbing clan.
1
Frank Bruni rocks. I am still laughing at the visual of the Trumps welcoming the Warrens into the White House.
Well said. All we can hope for is that he keeps eating fast food.
2
Glass half full maybe, but the thing he won't have after leaving office is the formal protections of his office and administration, or any compelling reason for normal (if self-debased) Republicans to continue their unholy alliance with him. Even people serving him must know perfectly well how unfit he is, how he sullies everything he touches, what his egomaniacal obsessions are costing others. Out of office and power, that character would be albatross to anyone with political ambitions that go beyond this administration. None of that would shut him up, obviously, but more of the country would have good reason to start admitting who he was all along. At that point, his ranting and bleating become those of a child we finally CAN ignore.
1
One reason so many hate our President, is that we have become a nation overrun by people with their hands out, and Trump doesn't think some of them deserve the handout.
Quit blaming others for your own shortcomings and get to work.
1
The cruelest thing we could ever do to Trump, once he's out of office, is to ignore him. He will rant and rave and spout all kinds of insults to get coverage, but the press must exercise enough discipline to keep him off the TV. Irrelevance is worse than prison to him.
1
After he goes to jail, promise me they will take away his Twitter account.
1
If he is beaten in 2020, he'll shriek around for a while tweeting here and there. And then, with some rapidity, I think, people will move on to someone or something more interesting than some old loser. He will still have his admirers, but he won't have the bully pulpit of the stage that comes with the Presidency. The kids won't go anywhere. He will try to assert and insert himself into American politics after he's done but his influence will dwindle. It always does, and he's got less going for him than most Presidents, even Buchanan, Harding, and Pierce.
Even when he becomes an ex-president he can still be indicted, convicted and imprisoned. For the sake of our young and our self worth this man must pay the price for his crimes.
1
But unlike today, when the media must cover what Trump says because he is President, it does not have to give him a spotlight when he's a crazy ex-President. Once he's gone, pay no attention to him. Let Fox News glorify him all by themselves.
1
Trump will be defeated in 2020 and will not go quietly. He’ll mobilize a variety of different groups, “bikers for Trump” for instance, with election fraud, media manipulation, scare tactics, fear mongering, race baiting and xenophobia among others. Groups like this will protest and cause disruptions (imagine the havoc that Truckers for Trump could cause by shutting down roads, highways and bridges) that will escalate into possible violence against minorities and people of color. He’ll motivate estranged white males that are taken with his messaging and cues into random acts of violence. It’s always been about him and he won’t take kindly to the Southern District of NY when it’s all over. White evangelicals from South, they worship him as the second coming of the messiah and will declare that the end days are upon them when he is defeated. Yes, we’ll be hearing from the Donald for a long long time...
1
This malignant Chaucey Gardner was as shocked as anyone to have won the election. Clearly, Trump's initial goal was to build his brand and his bank account big enough so he could launch the most virulent, alt-right network on the planet and get back on-air. How do I know this? Bannon and the Mercers bankrolled not only his election, but the launch of an alt-right media platform that mainstreamed racist hate groups and philosophies. It was a no-lose investment for them. A catastrophe for the rest of us.
2
The only answer to shutting him up is a devastating defeat. Get out the vote!
1
I'm sure I'll not be able to (metaphorically) 'spit' out the terrible 'taste' of trump-in-charge before I die.
Having never suffered ill health, physical disabilities or mental decline through 70 years of life reasonably well-lived, to date -- and being not a "Believer" -- the cleansing of that terrible 'taste,' and the leaving behind of all memory of him, is the one thing or two that gives me death as hope.
1
National civil unrest is not an inconceivable possibility should Trump lose the election given his approval of violence in many of his rallies. The frightening prospect is that many of his diehard supporters are gun toting loyalists.
9
I still ask this question, how did Trump and his father get away with all their crimes in NYC over the decades? Everyone knew the entire Trump family were committing crimes in real estate and many other schemes.
Those who worship money attract others who worship money. To have that as your only goal in life is only possible by taking advantage of hard working people and taking their money. Which is exactly what he and the GOP are doing right now.
8
@Hal: All the big real estate players in NYC donate to both political parties equally.
2
While he maybe successful in running his business, he certainly missed the boat with the country. Someone will need to do slot of damage control in 2020.
2
@pafy How can you possibly say he was successful in running his businesses? Where have you been?
1
@pafy
He bankrupted his businesses and couldn't get loans from U.S. lenders. He's always been known to be an unethical, inept businessman.
1
Trump is the embodiment of the worst values in our society - greed, fame and power. But he is more symptom than disease and the real illness is that 40% of our society also hold these values above all else. Perhaps it's these values that must change and this can only occur by living through the destruction and harm they inevitably cause and hopefully coming out the other side healthier and stronger. The question is whether this is all a boil that can be lanced and drained or whether this boil will lead to sepsis from which the patient cannot recover.
5
It is truly sobering to see how many people are afraid of Trump.
There is so much news about what Republicans in Congress will say about Trump “off the record”, but are too scared to be open about.
6
There's hope for the USA provided Trump and the GOP lose so badly in 2020 that even their erstwhile supporters will look upon him as a joke and the Trumpian GOP as morally bankrupt. Recovery will take longer if we don't recognize that G.W. Bush's administration was contemptuous of international law long before Trump ran for president and that the Republican Party increasingly become a party of populist resentment whose leaders have long scapegoated minorities and subverted democracy. If Trump rebuffs the election the result, he should be told that he will face prosecution without a toadying Attorney General and DOJ for support. Finally, America's prospects look positively robust compared to the mess Boris Johnson and the Brexiteers are making of the UK.
2
I am already obsessed with how to survive the possibility that this evil man could be re-elected. My mindset will be that every day of a second term means the nightmare is more than half over. I think of silly antidotes (like watching an episode of Seinfeld every day). But I’m hoping experts will come up with therapies to help us cope with this scourge on our beloved country if it continues another four years.
4
We have to organize and work to make sure a 2nd term does not happen.
I dearly look forward to the day when Trump no longer is President, and his tweets will be relegated to the state of irrelevance to which they belong.
9
Once Trump is out of office, New York courts will finally get their hands on him with their effort to convict him of monetary crimes.
If his tax returns are soon made public. the court of public opinion will be launched prior to his departure,
Hopefully, a new statute of SCOTUS term longevity will be created, without a grandfather clause.
But, most importantly, should a Democratic Party candidate get elected, the chance of a Trump pardon is small.
Upon conviction of money laundering, treason and perjury, to name a few, Trump will be behind bars without his phone.
Getting rid of him will take some time, but it starts with jailing him and taking away his phone. Lest we forget this lesson.
5
Trump has been in the blood stream of America since its founding,and will be around into the distant future. There will always about a third of us who will vote for a future Trump. The idea is to never,ever again let them gain control of our country.
10
Four years of not only losing progress on halting climate change, but actually going backwards, can never be regained. Even it is remedied after 50 or 100 years' effort, the plant and animal species that will have been lost will not be recovered (barring genetic experiments with future technology).
4
It is, sad to say, hard to see how this genie will ever get back in the bottle. The disease is out and spreading. The will of the people who might be able to stop it is not there. That is to say the republicans in the senate. And let us see how easy it will be to remove the president whenever his term is up. Nothing he likes better than a fight.
7
Frank's nightmare is unlikely to come about, especially if the Deutche Bank data comes to light showing how the bank propped up Donald Trump. He may find it hard to get financing for his own media enterprise, but it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
2
This recent Sharpie affair reminded me of the uncomfortable feeling I receive when seeing Donald Trump’s Sharpie-enabled signature on various proclamations and documents. Finally, I realize what makes me uncomfortable: Trump’s signature looks like graffiti that grace walls and bridges.
3
If there is a recession in 2020, with the stock market dropping by 40, 50 per cent or more, it will be associated with the Trump presidency , and I don't think people, even most of his base, will have much interest in him.
3
When Obama/Biden defeated McCain/Palin, I was relieved that the country was spared a VP Palin. I naively thought all the nonsense of her candidacy was behind us. But she had awakened and breathed life into a dark side of America that fully embraced birtherism and all its attendant ugliness. When Obama had served out his two terms, once again, I naively thought that a bleak chapter was firmly behind us. How very wrong I was. Trump is Palin on steroids, every bit as incompetent, irreverent and ill-prepared as she, and then some. The Palins and their five offspring may not match Trump and his progeny in terms of education and wealth, but they go toe-to-toe for their ability to milk an opportunity, to dominate the news cycle. Trump's rise can be directly ascribed to Palin's. We may be rid of him officially in 2020 or 2024 but I predict it will be the gift that keeps on giving for years to come.
10
@Last Frontier - I think you mean "grift" that keeps on giving -- or grifting.
If he wins in 2020 all bets are off.
If he loses, this piece is right-on, but only for a little while-- before long the indictments will start and then he can only continue to pollute the airwaves until he is incarcerated or dies awaiting trial. The next generation will fade into obscurity in any event (whether or not in prison).
Unfortunately, it will take much longer to repair the damage this human wrecking ball has caused in just a few years.
16
If this country were lucky, Trumpie would be found guilty of crimes and end up in a striped uniform in a correctional facility. Dream on as I do about this, it probably won't happen. This inhumane creature has not been held accountable for anything to date, despite all the terrible deeds and lack of concern for anyone except himself. Back to my dream!
3
He'll be dead sooner rather than later. His Twitter feed will go silent. He won't command attention any more (although Fox will lionize him as if he were Reagan, but we're used to that nonsense from Fox and can ignore it easily). His children and his enablers will go back to being the absurd sideshow that they were before his election.
Anything not to like about all of that? No. Better days are ahead, despite the stain he'll leave behind.
9
He will be defeated and will head to jail. I'm good with that.
3
You hint at something that worries me (among thousands of other Trump-related worries):that he will lie and cheat his way to a win. He's already discrediting polls and the fake news reporting on them. We already have all those gerrymandered districts and people thrown off the voting rolls. It's not that much like the Blue Wave of 2018, but more like that hurricane heading ineluctably for Alabama: it WILL happen, and I'll fire you if you say otherwise. I don't get why anyone has any hope in any Dem candidate when the deck is so stacked! :-(
4
Once out of office the media should do us a big favor and completely ignore him and what he says.
10
Speaking of nuclear codes, is there a mechanism in place to protect them when he is ousted, lest he express his displeasure by handing them over to Russia or NK? Are the generals or other adults in the admin preparing for the drama of his ouster?
He might have started his presidential campaign as a branding opportunity, and might have been as nauseous as the rest of us that fateful November night, but the presidency has certainly gone to his head. He will not leave gracefully.
7
I assume they change them. They actually already should give him fake ones.
1
Let's vote Trump out of office first before we concern ourselves regarding a post Trumpian world. And don't worry about a fake Trump TV network since we already have that in Fox News.
6
"I have an easier time imagining a “Thelma and Louise” remake starring Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin than I do the Trumps graciously beckoning the Warrens across the threshold of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Warren? If Warren were to win on November 3rd 2020 the stock market would collapse the next day. That fear, plus the threat of socialism, will keep the majority of Americans voting for Trump as they hold their noses...just like the last time.
3
Yet another wild prediction for when and if - gasp! - a progressive, educated woman is elected president. Warren seeks to put reasonable guidelines on markets in place, protect consumers and establish sustainable rules for capitalism. None of which we have now, thanks to nearly 40 years of deregulation and right-wing fantasies that the free market unchained and uncontrolled can function fairly. No, there will be no market crash. There will be adjustment and the pendulum will begin its long swing back to a sensibly regulated capitalist economy. Stop spreading this nonsense, please.
1
@rpe123: I guess the majority of American voters would prefer the hard-core Communist Stalinism of Trumputin over socialism (Warren is not a socialist, but even then, what’s so bad about socialism anyway..)? Methinks not...
I suspect that NY state and city are waiting for him, in 2020 for a series of court cases et al.
Paul
5
Frank, the moral stain will remain for a long while, the books and movies will flourish, Trump will fret and fume via social media, the public will sigh a collective cleansing breath of relief, and he will drift into history as a champion of those in our society whose highest cause is bigotry. Dethroned, the engine of ridicule will finish the job of making him the punchline to a rancid dirty joke. On the other hand, he may be successfully prosecuted for obstruction, tax fraud, election law violations, and spend a great deal of time in court and as a residential guest of federal and state institutions.
2
@David S. Glosser
I refuse to consume any "entertainment" or other media that derive from Trump and his horiffic administration.
Won't they take Trump's phone away from him in prison? The end of his tweets would be a blessing.
4
The media that Trump calls "the enemy of the people" are the ones who gave Trump the political power that he has. Maybe they are the enemy of the people, for if any one person can bring America down, it's Donald Trump.
If the media agree to boycott Trump after he leaves office (except for accounts of any convictions in court), his power to diminish our culture will itself be diminished. But the media will never even consider this as a possibility. To them the worst news is the best news. They love disaster.
5
I was hoping for some thoughtful analysis of the damage done to every institution of government and the Gorsuch Kavanaugh nightmare. Instead Mr. Bruni appears to be terrified by the prospect of more reality show Donny. In case it’s not obvious we each have the capability to turn the Donny show off after he leaves office. I suspect that there will be those, as with Rush Limbaugh or Newt Gingrich, who can’t get enough and the rest of us who’ve had far too much.
7
We can only hope that when he is no longer president the media will no longer feel compelled to report his every tweet. His base can go to twitter and follow him, but once he is out of office there is no need to report his every utterance.
11
There is a good chance we will never recover from Trump as a leader of the free world. What may happen is Europe will coalesce, have their own military rather than depending on us. Who can blame them.
2
How about prison? How about finally starting a new practice in this "nation of laws" that those entrusted with high office be prosecuted and sentenced in proportion to their abuse of the position entrusted to them?
8
As long as he’s out of the White House, I couldn’t care less how much media exposure he gets; I’ll happily go back to ignoring him.
5
You shall reap what you sow. We have turned into "get rich quick" entrepreneurs and given up hard work, study and team work to make progress. Even the Unions went crooked as soon as the dues got collected and invested. Representatives have been robbing and abusing the Represented since the beginning of civilization. Yet we accept Representative Government because the Representatives write the constitutions and laws. WE must either accept stupidity and greed, along with lying, cheating, and stealing or change to Actual Democracy where we vote directly for the laws we live under, vote directly for Executive Officers, and vote directly for Judges. Nothing else is freedom or justice or equality. Trump will be as forgotten as most of the 44 other Presidents.
4
It's a good thing that obsession is not a crime.
2
Then possibility that is not considered by the author and his readers is that we may become a better nation because of the Trump experience. As much as I hate the Hitler analogy, Germany grew into the most democratic republic in Europe after the Fuhrers downfall. If you assume that all we, as a nation, can learn from the horror of the Trump years is hate and division we are indeed lost. But it is equally possible that the nation may emerge from Trump as from a deadly virus or fever, and finally live the democratic principles that were so trampled upon by this would-be tyrant.
5
@SY
The postwar Germany you describe began with a program of de-Nazification directed by the victorious Allies.
A key element in the de-Trumpification of the U.S. must be the de-Kochification of politics beginning at the state level where their money has done so much to trample upon democratic principles. If we don't correct for the perversion of politics at all levels by oligarchs, domestic and foreign, and by Corporations-as-Persons, we're doomed.
2
@SY
Pluralistic liberal democracy in Germany wasn't an indigenous, spontaneous response to deposing a dictator, not entirely at least. Deposing said dictator took a dozen years and cost millions of lives — civilian, military, Allied and Axis. Pluralistic liberal democracy was imposed (ok, "introduced") in the western occupation zones by French, British and American forces. That system of government didn't reach the Soviet-occupied east until after the Berlin Wall fell, the Warsaw Pact collapsed, and Germany re-unified. All of which occurred over forty years after World War II ended.
The fact that neo-fascist parties and ideology are resurgent in Germany thirty years after _that_ should give everyone pause.
Undoing the damage wrought by Trumpism is, potentially, the work of decades. And the certainty of success — let alone permanence — is not assured. In any event the world will continue to change around us, politically, economically, socially, geographically.
2
Everyone who works in media should read your column and then pledge NOT to cover this fool when he's out of office. The excuse we hear from the media now is "he's president, we have to cover him." I disagree. But at any rate, when he's NOT president, please learn to refrain. And Twitter will no longer have any reason to tolerate his rule-breaking when he's not the prez, so he should be quickly dumped from Twitter as well.
6
Who cries fowl? Seems there is a lack of acceptance of awareness of the plight of America in the hands of the righteous moralist of the fanatic liberal element type. Before the elitist of liberal thought confuse their woeful blight on America as some standard bearer for legitimacy, it would be helpful to acquaint themselves with the dismal history of libertarian idealism in the history of human civilization. The history of failure and despicable conduct has been a stain on all of humanity and godless in its pursuit of self-righteousness.
2
Trump will try to make waves, tidal waves, but, if the media is no longer broadcasting his every tweet, he'll eventually pick up his marble head and go home.
5
But what about the Southern District of New York? Won't he be prosecuted when he leaves office? I have been DREAMING of seeing 45 and his family in prison. Must I forget about that???
9
Not if he's in jail.
6
Electing him and then continuing to support him is our 21st Century sin
2
When Trump leaves office, I beg the media to cease paying any attention to his tweets. Ignore him!!!
3
There is one scenario that changes everything. In time, his immunity from indictment as a sitting president will disappear.
What Tump then faces as a citizen is a cascade of criminal felony indictments in both state and federal criminal and civil courts. Trump’s conviction, as an indictable common citizen unprotected by immunity, may result in immense dollar costs, crippling fines and jail time. It will be difficult to be a reality TV Star or to remain the beloved Tea Party Messiah from a jail cell.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu might succeed in his desperate ploy of having the Knesset grant him life-time immunity from prosecution for his alleged crimes.For Trump this gambit or the insanity of pre-pardoning himself are unavailable.
4
I wanted to write an insightful, thought-provoking comment. But all I can think is, God, how I despise that man and everything he stands for. He's brought me down to his level. I hate that.
16
@Texas Tabby
You and me both, Tabby.
1
No, this Trump Dynasty will not come to pass. After his 2020 defeat, Trump will attempt a coup d'etat by remaining in power. This will lead to Tanks in the Streets, a violent revolution, and a trip to the basement of Trump tower and a firing squad for the Trumpanoffs.
5
A Trump family trip on a Boeing 737 Max? Could work wonders.
6
The problem isn't so much Trump, it's our acceptance / tolerance of Trump and his depravity. We should be ashamed of ourselves.
6
...unless he's in prison.
3
Like a stain on polyester......
Always a reminder of a mistake or accident..
Until it gets thrown away....
3
The catastrophic effects of Donald Trump's presidency and his corrupt administration are going to take years to untangle and reverse. I only hope that the turnaround will happen during my children's lifetimes - because it certainly will not happen in mine. History has its eyes on you, Mr. Trump - it will be brutally honest and very, very ugly.
3
I really think - at least, I really HOPE - that the SDNY is waiting for The Dear Leader with handcuffs once voters push him out of the WH. I don't expect that Manhattan Correctional allows their residents to have too many toys.
4
If the media will turn their backs on him and stop giving him the spotlight he craves, he'll lose money, shrivel up like a slug in salt.
5
Maybe if 1/2 of his nonsense was IGNORED, as it's nothing but a distraction from the previous horror, we'd be in a saner place. Please, media, pick your battles.
4
If Trump names his new media empire MAGA --- Made America Great Again, so be it.
The 2020 Democratic ticket --- Biden/Buttigieg --- should also use MAGA --- Make America GOOD again.
1
The stink will remain in history forever.
3
Prison is a great silencer...
2
Our Tammany hall White House , hopefully will be cleaned and sanitized after he leaves.
There is a serious moral, trust collapse already happened in federal government.
Imagine that GOP is no different than a rotten corpse of racoon which 18 wheeler passed over it .
What remains from his magic immoral touch , is a true survival issue for many institutions. CIA, FBI, ARMY, GOP, DOJ etc.
2
"If you think he has demolished all the norms of what it means to be the president of the United States, just wait until you see the sledgehammer he takes to the traditional role and restraint of former presidents."
I know. T.rump is like your house afire: it's impossible to worry about or mitigate climate change killing your flower beds and vegetable garden while your dwelling is going up in flames. With your loved ones inside.
I think that with the situation in the White House deteriorating on a daily basis in a year and two months he might be in a straight jacket by then.
It is obvious to many that he has committed treason, or at least sedition, and I don't think the Southern District of New York is feeling like they should ignore his crimes "for the good of the Nation, to end this National nightmare". I believe they want to see him in prison.
And with that hanging over his head he might just try to escape U.S. justice and take refuge with his old bud, Putty.
Except that Putin is probably sick of his act as well. t rump has shone a bright light upon Putin's intrigues and I don't think he likes that particular spotlight.
So t rump might just end up in a Soviet, oops I mean Russian, gulag.
Karma still has a place in the cosmos.
2
I’m not so sure about that...
The audience for this media empire would resemble a media empire created by Lawrence Welk. His children are traumatized idiots aiming at an audience of one. Without the “bully-pulpit” he will have rallies that shrink in size and no longer get media attention. He will visit his still un-completed wall and rage about immigrants. He will scream into an empty abyss.
And once the GOP looks at the barren landscape Trump left them with, they will repudiate him.
There’s a reason GWB paints and Obama keeps his mouth shut. They realize their time has passed.
Trump won’t, but the rest of us will.
3
Trump has already left a lasting mark on the United States. He has made the Supreme Court simply a right wing stamp of approval for anything he says or does. The Senate no longer exists as a separate but equal legislative body, but instead waits for orders from der Furher, the Attorney General is really the private attorney, EPA has become the Environmental Destruction Agency, and the White House is now the White Supremacists House.
3
I see it too--"He can sketch a second White House adjacent to the first one but taller, with gold trim." I am surprised he has not already renamed the WhiteHouse Trump Casino.
My eyeballs are bleeding.
2
But Frank don’t you think he will most likely become crazier and crazier till he’s non functioning? He has already departed from reality and seems to border on, and actually swims in, psychotic thinking. Once he’s out of the presidency the press will have the long awaited choice to not report on him! Think of all the things you’ll be able to write about once Trump-free. No journalist will be obliged to write his name again.
2
Yup. Like the sick, perverted, drunk, bullying, awful uncle stained into your childhood memories of Thanksgiving dinners, this will be a national embarrassment unlike any we have ever experienced before!
2
What about GW Bush? I was running my anti trump diatribe through my head after hearing about Bolton. Realized that the effects of President lingers on and on. We are 18 years out from 9/11 and the wars and policies erected in the aftermath by GW still linger. Are we out of Iraq? Are we out of Afghanistan? Hows the growth rate since the last recession? And yet this idiot is worse, and I’ll bet the stench lingers on even longer, the sooner this stain is removed the sooner we can get back to trying to fix the problems that ail this nation.
2
I am the chosen one. Remember?
2
If Trump is defeated in 2020 but builds a huge following thereafter, what's to stop him from mounting a return in 2024? If the Democrats stumble and the economy slumps, Trump will be there to remind everyone how much better life was when he was president. Grover Cleveland did it. Just sayin'.
3
Like Hitler in Germany.
3
Let's address the elephant in the room.
Win, lose or draw, this man will not leave office after the 2020 election. The last 3 years will look like a dream to the nightmare he presents in January 2021....
He will burn everything down before acknowledging defeat. We are screwed....
3
I implore the media to rob him of his oxygen once he leaves office. Please do not report every tweet, every insult, every angry rant, every lie. Do not give Trump the satisfaction of feeling he still matters, nor his offspring. If the press can not resist his pleas for relevancy, they will be complicit in the continued division of our nation and no better than the Republicans who have been putting profit and greed over morals and ethics. Please give him what he deserves and ignore him.
6
Incarceration at Super Max would be a start. You don't hear much from Ted Kaczynski these days.
5
You're talking about national PTSD after Trump is out of office. Malignant narcissists do take up a lot of mind space, but we do not have to allow it to continue. There are cognitive behavioral therapy protocols to get control. In the case of the Trump gang, their being prosecuted and convicted would be very helpful to the healing process.
4
Believe it: the ex-president and his moron political heirs, coming soon to a TV near you.
1
Unfortunately, Mr. Bruni is correct. Trump's life has been an ongoing effort to draw attention to himself, increase his notoriety, and fill the empty cavern that is his self-esteem. As President, he has now reached the peak of attention and ostensible importance. So what can he do next, there is no next higher level to achieve. Thus, between his Narcissistic Personality Disorder traits, plus his Antisocial Personality Disorder traits, (and other symptoms of mental illness), he will do whatever necessary to draw attention to himself and attack those he hates, bears some grudge against, and/or is envious of. The best response is for the media and everyone else to -- as best is humanly possible -- ignore him. And as necessary at appropriate times, respond to his rants and Tweets, etc. with a succinct response that, "No one cares what you think or say."
4
All exquisitely true, but Mao's ambassador to the UN once said after listing the world disasters of the times, including wars, epidemics and poverty, "the situation is excellent", for revolution.
Maybe the actual disaster is sadly not enough and more of the same is needed to concentrate American minds.
3
Not quite correct. You will be rid of Trump within 5 years maximum. You will never be rid of the popular minority that brought him to (temporary) political power.
2
I keep having the same recurring dream.
I see Donald Trump being led away in handcuffs, wearing an orange jumpsuit that matches the color of his face.
I see the Trump organization being seized by the US Government as a criminal enterprise and its assets sold off.
I see his family left destitute and wondering the streets of NYC muttering out loud, "where did we go wrong?"
I see Mitch McConnell beset by a pack of hungry wolves. They take a bite out of him and spit it out, then leave him alone. He isn't even worthy of being dog food.
I see the rest of the Republican party who stood firmly behind Trump, sailing away in a rickety boat, perhaps heading to Jeffrey Epstein's Island, but the boat sinks in front of the Statue of Liberty and no one bothers to rescue them as there are no funds left for the Coast Guard. The money went to build Trump's Wall.
Hey, one can dream, can't he?
7
@Larry May your dreams come true.
If Trump is not re-elected, but is potentially at risk for prosecution, he will resign and have Pence pardon him.
Pence already knows his political career is over, so his consolation prize will be the honor of being President for a week in December 2020.
4
I guiltily admit that it's been....what.....entertaining in a way, to see what new outrage Trump has committed now; we're never at a loss for a conversational topic. I don't expect him to stop his disgusting behavior if he loses the election; in fact it will probably get worse, and based on the military's being OK with his Scottish airport scam, it's worrisome to think that he could mobilize them if he decides that election loss = attempted coup. But perhaps newspapers and media outlets could agree to give him a dedicated daily couple of column inches toward the back of the want ads. That way the addicts could still get their fix but the rest of us could see less of him.
1
I'm glad this article was published.
Chris Matthews has been saying the same.
Fire and Fury explained how the goal was to self promote and who wouldn't love 35% of the public as your market? He will have all of the visibility with non of the responsibly (feckless) as president.
The impeachment process is at least documentation for the historical record, that will hopefully cast shade on credibility to the "Dynasty's" political future.
1
I'm tempted to bet money that, if Trump loses in 2020, he'll simply refuse to accept defeat, and call for armed rebellion. His base will then conclude that they are protecting America with their assault rifles, which they bought for just such an occasion, and keeping us free.
5
He will die someday - and then we will be free, as he'll fade into history - and few pay attention to history any more.
1
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about Peewee Herman? Has The Apprentice gone into syndication? How long can you watch a slow motion car wreck? True, there are some who will never give up on him, but once he isn't president, I think the appeal will fade. If not, we are in deep trouble.
1
As long as he can swing enough primary voters, he owns the republican party.
3
Mr. Bruni, if Trump is free when he's out of office, you may well be right. On the other hand, he will no longer be president, so his comments won't matter nearly as much as they do now. On the other hand, if he is indicted, tried and convicted or pleads to the cases in which he is already an unindicted co-conspirator, he will have no phone while he is in prison and little if any access to a computer. That will shut him up for any number of years. I'm hoping for this outcome.
15
Arnold had it right. He could never transition being the great celebrity to effective governance of CA as its governor and Trump has the same problem unable to transition being a joy boy New York con man to president. The nation has had worse in the White House. And, rest assured, there will be worse than Trump coming along.
I would say that’s impossible, his election was a fluke.
3
This isn't really a laughing matter. Our republic is under siege and any responsible American should be extremely alarmed at what is happening before our very eyes. Who would have believed 6-7 years ago that the willful daily dissemination of lies and deceit from the greatest office in the world would be tolerated, but yet here we are. Where does it stop? Robert Mueller sounded the alarm that foreign countries have already established ways to not only influence but manipulate our elections. Is it really that much of a stretch to think that elections can be changed so that one corrupt power maintains power? Who will stand up to this dictator when he refuses to leave? He's literally tweeting he's going to be president "fo'eva" and people laugh it off like as a silly muse. It's not funny, none of this is but nothing is being done to reign things in and re-establish normalcy. The longer these challenges to our democracy go unchecked the harder it will be to fix it and there will be no turning back.
11
I think Mr. Bruni’s mistaken. I believe there’s a relatively good chance that the GOP won’t nominate him to run in 2020. If that happens, or even if it looks like it could happen, I believe Trump will desert the GOP and start a party of his own (“America First” comes to mind). That would be great, since it’d split the GOP’s votes, making a Democratic win more likely. Of course, Trump will continue to denigrate the GOP afterwards (which is what he always does when someone doesn’t play his game), but the GOP will have had enough of him, and many of his erstwhile supporters will drop off. He and the Trump Dynasty will become footnotes, like Ross Perot and Goldwater.
1
@gbdoc Ross Perot and Goldwater did some good things. Neither should be compared to Trump.
1
@MKR
Perot, maybe, Goldwater less so. But my point was the footnote quality. However, the damage Trump has done will long outlive him, I'm afraid.
1
@gbdoc I'm sorry, but I think he's hijacked the Republican Party thoroughly. I'll be as shocked if he isn't the nominee for 2020 as I was when he was elected.
He won't be tweeting from prison.
7
I would love to see him tweet from prison...!!!
With any luck, attorneys general in New York and other states will have established enough evidence of his misdoings both before and during his term that they can slap him in prison for a good, long time. That should help shut him up.
7
All you show by texts as this is your unlimited hatred for Trump, and clearly quite a bit of hatred and disrespect for people who voted for him, and will vote for him again next year.
Remember though, which is going to be difficult for you, what you sow you shall rip.
1
@ss
I have never blamed Trump for what he is. He has never shown himself to be anything other than a con man - and not a very effective one at that.
However, you are quite right, I have nothing but contempt for those credulous enough to buy the snake oil.
3
The entire corrupt family needs to be exiled . . . from the planet. If we can send rovers to Mars, can't we send these horrible, selfish, destructive people to another galaxy? Now, THAT would be a great project for science.
11
Now why should we inflict them on another galaxy? Not even the Klingons deserve that.
2
@Kate B. If we could only figure out where the Borg were, we could aim them in that direction.
Americans will do what they always do, they will forget. Give it five years and no one will ever admit for voting for the crook. America's arrogance is only exceeded by its amnesia. Like the opening scene in "The Newsroom" America is not the greatest country. We were but not anymore. Sacrifice is for the other guy and everyone's a hero. I want to vomit.
3
The only good news is that he is rather old, so there are fewer years in front of him than behind him. His legacy will die with him.
6
The horrific effluvia that is Trump will blanket America's psyche until this narcissist is out of office and his kids are never allowed a chance at it.
1
I breathlessly await what will be displayed in the presidential Library. Perhaps a hands-on exhibit: a stack of legal pads, a Sharpie, and a 3x5 card inviting the faithful to scrawl their own lies.
6
He will hang around as long as the media gives him a platform.
5
We're nearly three years into this horror show, and every time I see a head-to-toe picture of Trump I think to myself (among other things):
How is it possible that somebody who is so (allegedly) wealthy can't locate and employ a competent tailor?
Most rich narcissists are at least well-dressed and groomed, and if they stay quiet they mostly blend in and don't even annoy you very much. With Trump you have to endure the dual assault of his verbal idiocy *and* his uniquely repugnant aesthetic.
6
@Scottb He's actually paying a fortune for clothes that do not fit.
2
@Scottb And hairstylist.
@MKR
Wrong!! He never pays. He stiffs everyone.
Trump is the mold that grew in the dark, dank corners of this country and spread its virus into our nation's bloodstream. Now our hope is that the election of 2020 brings the sunshine that disinfects us of Trump and all his creeping, bacterial, spore-like progeny.
10
Hopefully they'll all be in jail.
2
Few people want to acknowledge this uncomfortable fact: America deserves Trump. We are Trump. No, I don't mean all of us, or even most of us. I've always been offended by him. So have many, many others. But what other country would normalize Trump the way this country has? Donald Trump has always been a liar. And a cheat. And a moral degenerate - an exceedingly despicable human being.
And yet Trump was always in the news and on talk shows, interviewed as if it was totally normal to hear the outrageous blather of one of the least successful businessmen in modern U.S. history. He managed to portray himself as the opposite of what he really was - and continues to do so to this day - because the system, the country's culture, allowed it. Everyone was trying to make a buck off the guy who was just trying to make a buck off of everybody else. It is a portrait of an America obsessed with fame and fortune, always peering into the immediate future, not to make a better world, but to milk the current one until it is depleted of reason, resources and morality.
Until we face up to the fact that we made Trump possible, some of us by merely tolerating what we know deep down is wrong, we will never be free of the ruinous culture (or lack thereof) that allowed Trumpism to prevail.
727
@Jon So true, but remember more than half of America thinks he is great. What has happened to us?
27
@Jon
Agreed, agreed and agreed.
We made this happen. This is America... we care not for people but for profit.
And its only going to get worse!
36
@rankin9774 Not more than half of America, but a good 40% or so. It's truly unbelievable to think that we share a country with so many who support such an amoral, degenerate human being.
98
Elegant and insightful, as always. A little speculation:
While not discounting the various potentially debilitating troubles a former president Trump could be confronting, what about the option of chucking the party he infested and sullied, then – backed by countless anti-government fans – creating a new party. That way he could finally and officially put his gilt all-caps name on one. It could be the most efficient way of perpetuating his signature chaos, staying (more legitimately than as a mere loudmouth) in the news, nose-thumbing whatever may be left of the poor trumpublicans and thereby doubling the potential targets of his vindictive tweets. Also, as a fringe benefit he would be freer than ever to name and then fire anybody he wanted to back him up: even beyond his family, self-serving candidates might not be lacking.
This is the world's oldest functioning democracy. The President cannot be a clown: we have the electoral college, the two party system, and largely literate, conscientious voters schooled for centuries in the ways of democracy to prevent that. And we allow citizens too stupid or lazy to vote to just stay home. Thus, election after election, clown candidates run and are filtered out by the parties, the voters, the electoral college.
Except, a real life emperor with no clothes is "the President." Which has burst 200+ years of a national delusion that it cannot happen.
Of course, it can happen. It's even predictable if you wait long enough. Which is why the system has dual sovereignty and separation of powers.
Trump will be forgotten. Tax cuts are not the stuff of history text books and Trump has done nothing of that kind. His cultist like supporters view him as a 'winner' who will make them 'winners.' But if he losses, they will be losers and will forget about him, save perhaps to pause briefly to hang him from a lamp post.
2
A couple of points:
1) All efforts at impeachment will fail. With a 90% approval amongst Republicans, no way any GOP Senator or Representative will EVER vote for that. Further, the 31 new Democratic reps that won Trump districts in 2018 will loathe the vote. Only way out is via the election.
2) Trump is a symptom, not the cause, of the increased polarization in the USA (in fact the world). To be fair, for all his bombast and reality-TV histrionics, he has forced the true leftist agenda to the fore. Nationalism was the natural pushback to globalism. Trump recognized the leftist attacks on personal freedoms and exploited them to gain power.
3) Nationalism, and the fight against socialism, will not leave with Trump. Even if the leftists take power in 2020, there will be an active Resistance to that from the right. Again, Trump, as big a personality as he is, is not at the heart of this. He is simply the current figurehead against the leftists that so many Americans abhor.
There are bigger forces at work than simply Trump. Don't let his tall tales and buffoonery lull you into thinking all this rancor and polarization is because of him (and can be "solved" by his removal). The left wants to control this country and, by extension, the world. They are aghast at the individual freedoms in the Constitution which is why SCOTUS is so important and why all the calls for changes to the Constitution are coming from the left.
It's not about Trump. Don't be fooled.
3
Throughout history, the world has moved on and progressed in spite of cowardly Conservatives trying to hold onto whatever world was prevailing at the time. You'll get used to sharing power with minorities, women, and foreigners even. I have great faith in you. Conservatives from the 1940s would be appalled even by what Conservatives are trying to hang on to now. Onward and upward.
1
@karisimo0 So true that the bold experiments with National Socialism and Communism in the 1940s resulted in the deaths of millions of people. It was the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution that allowed the world to recover from the subjugation of the leftists. All these lessons of failed leftism are lost with the current crop of Democratic Party candidates. It's those "cowards" that will guarantee personal freedoms for all Americans, not just the "woke" elite striving for power on the backs of the minorities, women and foreigners they purport to save.
If Trump loses in 2020, he will rant, rave and rage on about how the election was stolen from him and how he is sooo much better and smarter than whichever Dem wins the election, and prepare for the 2024 election to vindicate his ego. This scenario is almost guaranteed unless the remaining Republicans repudiate Trump and his racism, narcissism, bigotry, misogyny and mendacity and realize that that is the only path for the GOP to survive as a serious political grouping. Trump's 90% approval of only 30% of the electorate represents about a quarter of the US voters are not enough to elect him (or his progeny) if the 2 mainstream parties offer reasonable alternatives. While there is value in having left-ish and right-ish factions in the Dems and GOP, respectively, to extend the spectrum of political debate, all must remember that we are still basically a center-left to center-right country. Current Congressional "Republicans" have sacrificed their soul and character on the alter of Trump and do not deserve a place in our gov't; oh, to have a politician of the integrity of John Bercow! There should be no place for Trump, and his ilk, in American politics. However, only we, the voters, can determine that outcome.
1
Yes, we will be rid of Donald Trump--at least his physical presence in the White House--hopefully by a massive voter turnout in 2020 with a staggering and humiliating NO vote for Trump and an overwhelming YES vote for the Democratic presidential candidate and other Democratic candidates.
But given how Donald has managed to take over the Republican Party and turn it into the Trumpster Party, there were be fallout from the Trump presidency for decades.
1. It will take decades/generations to clean up the mess Trump and the GOP willfully engineered, esp. in reversing climate change, restoring the environment, fixing economic inequality, re-establishing foreign relations with democracies instead of dictatorships, and restoring America's credibility in the world.
2. In no time, Trump and the GOP have managed to trash the norms of decency and release a Pandora's Box of terrible people saying despicable things and given permission to be cruel, violent and lethal. They & their children will roam free-range
3. We will be living with Trumpism and all the tasteless, tacky money-grubbing, limelight seeking little Trumps for at least a generation.
4. No doubt, in typical right-wing, revisionist history, fashion, Fox News and the GOP will be lionizing Trump--just like they did Reagan--into eternity. There will be all kinds of things named for Trump--airports, government buildings, defective military jets, and a clothing line of baggy dark bat-man suits.
Dictators never die
3
If they give him a phone, let him twitter from jail.
2
Trump tweeting into the sunset will be bad enough, but I have a greater anxiety. You have to wonder about the next Republican president, because there will be another eventually and the trend with them over the last 60 years has been progressive worsening. Nixon was worse than Eisenhower, Reagan was worse than Nixon (really), Bush was worse than Reagan and Trump is worse than Bush. Ford and Bush the Elder were not so bad but they lost their elections and I’m thinking that it was because they weren’t bad enough. Nearly half of Americans want nastiness in the white house, trashing poor and non-white people, advancing plutocracy and theocracy, and projecting militaristic national chauvinism. And they don't worry so much about the precepts of democracy or the environment. Who will they go for next? I shudder to think.
8
Yes, we won’t recover from Trump in my lifetime.
3
Oh yeah. For sure.
whether Il Duce - I mean trump - is impeached, loses in 2020 or (horrors) wins in 2020 and leaves office in 2024, he will continue to tweet ugly, divisive messages,
The question is whether the media will continue to pay attention to him and give him space.
2
I agree that this demagogue will be a problem for years to come. Sadly the author assumes a degree of sanity on the part of this nasty creature. If he loses, he will not leave the Oval Office peacefully and he will need to be carried out kicking & screaming. When that happens Moscow Mitch will have quite a quandary but then neither of these men can be expected to do the right thing when it counts.
3
He was always with us. He didn't appear out of nowhere, but was elected by the American people, many of whom, not unlike him, are racist and ignorant. As Pogo said, "we have met the enemy and he is us".
4
He won't be doing any of that if he is locked up in jail for the rest of his miserable life, as he should be. And if you in the media ignore him.
1
Are you allowed to tweet in prison let alone a smart phone. Just think from thee Whitehouse to the Big House (Attica). Send in Nelson Rockefeller.
1
This best possible scenario is a massive stroke. He won't be a martyr to the Right. And he won't be able to speak or tweet. Then I'm looking forward the Southern District of NY indicating and convicting him of years of fraud and financial malfeasance. Yes Trump has conned multiple generations of conservative voters, but even George Wallace conservatives moved on eventually. The media would do wise to never give another second of airtime once he's out of office.
3
Let him operate his post-Presidency (likely from a New York detention facility of some kind) the way he has conducted his Presidency: by playing exclusively to his ever-dwindling base. They're starting to figure out that he's conned and swindled them, but he still has millions of Twitter followers. Once he's out of office, the media will have no reason to report those tweets, so they can be read (or not) by the obedient fans for whom they were intended.
Then again, smartphones might not be allowed where he'll be spending (or serving) his time. No tweets for the wicked.
2
Truer words have never been written. This is a sore WINNER who will never graciously accept an electoral defeat. He will harass and taunt the next president until he dies and probably after.
3
It would really, really help if the media would stop with the Trump garbage 24-7. Even during the 16 campaign, cable news outlets would cut away from regular programming to show the Trump plane sitting on a runway waiting to take off. He isn’t that fascinating except to himself. Maybe Trumpless Thursday’s? I realize that watching Trump is like watching NASCAR...you don’t want to turn your back because you might miss the wreck, but, come on. If we’re going to ignore it, you have to help us...
4
Don't forget that the Russian government takes a lot of credit for the election of Trump. And don't underestimate what they will do to ensure that a Democrat doesn't win in 2020. They will not willingly let go of a compromised puppet.
Mr. Bruni's horrible prediction is probably right, but I'd like to see Trump on trial for treachery!
4
Frank. Relax man. As with Bush and Obama, Trump will retire gracefully after his 2nd term.
3
Mr. Bruni, at least you added "health permitting", because I believe there are serious questions in that regard. Watching a segment showing him over the years that Chris Matthews assembled, it was impossible not to notice his decline in regard to coherence, vocabulary, reasoning and even sense of humor, now decidedly reduced to third grade boy level.
Putting that on top of his emotional incontinence and some physical symptoms possibly related to frontal lobe dementia and I think there is serious cause to consider that he is impaired beyond his well known psychological and intellectual issues.
All of this to say, I don't think he will remain a public figure forever and I certainly don't think he's clueless, shallow and fatally covetous children have any future in politics on the level to which they imagine they have become accustomed, basically an extension of what they've always done, grifting.
2
What sense of humor??? I have never seen him laugh in 10 years...!!!
Not sure who was more sore after the elections. Trump or you guys in the media. You tried to pull off a silent coup and did not work. Imagine if 90% of the main stream media did that to Barack Obama? Would he call them the enemy of the people. Luckily for him it was only 10% at Fox and that's why he did not have to say much. And why would u want to get rid of Trump? For most people listening to good speeches does not put food on the table. Today it is the best economy for everyone and the minorities alike. It could be even better if the trade issues are resolved. But someone is fighting for with guts which should have been done before long time ago. Instead Joe Biden took his son to China to get him a huge investment from the Chinese (and Ukraine) while he did them favors. Surprised how little you guys talk of his corruption.
2
I’ve been thinking about this recently as well. No matter what happens in the 2020 election or even before that, Trump will never go quietly. He receives more media coverage than anyone in the world, and he’ll never give that up. Even once he’s left office, he’ll never stop chirping from the sidelines. Only incarceration or death could silence him.
2
Frank,Trump will be gone but trumpism will be with us for a while longer.Fear for the future,racism, misogynism, economic and educational disparity and other factors that gave us Trump are not going away soon, as is the media that exploit these fears. Brace yourself for a rough ride
3
A lot of things will happen and have happened. 1) the standards of the Office of the President have been defiled. There will have to be an exorcism of some kind to fix that. 2) The Donald may have some sincere legal problems hounding him. 3) Because he is out of power, some of The Loyal Trump Right will abandon him. He will no longer be useful to them. 4) Hangers-on and other losers will still follow him, having invested their heart and soul into the shameless grifter. They are the purest Trumpists and are infatuated by him.
Frank Bruni's prediction will happen for only a certain group, as after leaving office his people will have gone as far as they can go.
1
He won't be able to tweet from prison, which is where he'll be if the justice system in the US does its job.
3
Agree with all of this but will add one more thought, if he loses in 2020 what’s to stop him from running again in 2024?
He must be impeached and removed, which prevents him from hold any office again.
2
"No, he’ll be tweeting, bleating, ranting and raging in precisely the manner that he is now, just without the nuclear codes."
If he's not throwing his tantrums from a federal prison it will speak to a greater problem than any one man could burden us with.
2
You are right. And the damage he's caused will take decades to repair, if it can be. We've discovered a large set of the American public for whom the ends justifies the means, or the means were the end. He's the means to a nasty, nasty end. It will be the greatest con in our history; he'll get caught and still get away with it.
3
Frank, what we're stuck with are millions of poorly educated, easily conned voters. They think that the economic situation the month after a new President takes office is due to the new President, as if nothing depended on the work of the past year or decade. They think the President does and should personally oversee everything from disaster management to central bank policy to science to weather to health, to everything, no expert advice needed. Note that I did not say they were dumb. But with a lack of focus on public education, voters are not going to get to where they need to be. With the mainstream media covering the front pages with stories of personal drama from mass shootings, floods and hurricanes and fires, and with stories of Trump's personal antics, the voters are not going to learn the facts and analysis that they need to wisely guide America's path. Time for you to focus on the audience, not the snake oil salesman.
7
Let me politely disagree with Mr. Bruni.
First of all is it your assumption that the system will let him of the hook...in this case we can never say "No one above the law", don't know if it was exactly the wording, but seems that our Constitution was based on that concept.
The worst punishment for trump and his family, all these insatiable gluttons for attention is Total Oblivion, like they were past seasons Reality TV that played itself into the ground.
And trust me for this group, if there are not on our TV screens, they don't exist.
Nothing worse than that...
Imagine no one watching the show.
Still hope real justice will be done and his tweets from jail cell or mental facility won't be on our minds anymore...
So unbearable to listen to his stream of superlatives, I believe he said unbelievable about 6 times in one sentence today, such limited mind...yikes.
3
The beginning of the Trump family dynasty.
Some members of the GOP believe that they can return the mainstream GOP back to its senses, back to the issues of the good old days of Bush.
The GOP from now on will be a right-wing extremist party, why would anyone want any of these people in your party?
These mainstream never-Trump GOP will never get their party back, ever.
My greatest concern is the 40% of Americans who rather be Russian than Democrat, another false choice, but the meaning is clear: the United States and Russia are a good team.
Secession now tomorrow and forever
1
Trump will always have a place in our history, therefore in our consciousness. What's worse is that Trump's supporters will always have an important place in our politics.
1
Since it seems there will not be an impeachment, we can still hope that in 2021 we will lock him up for all his crimes, from obstruction of justice to using the presidency for his own personal benefit. If he is locked up, his chances of tweeting will diminish substantially.
4
I confess I fear that whenever Trump leaves the White House or is removed from it, he will spend even more time tweeting and otherwise assaulting our seneses and sensibilities.
Then, however, I trot out a hope that is not so forlorn. Trump has always lived his business life on the edge of legality and no doubt he has croissed it from time to time. Before he bewcame president, no one cared much. Now they care.
As soon as the first indictment is handed down, the prosecution will move for a gag order on Trump's Twitter account and all of his social media. They will petition the court tio enjoin Trumpp from holding press conferences and giving interviews on all forms of media.
Whereas there are First Amendment concerns, the DA or U.S. attorney will correctly point out that if Trump is unconstrained, he will pollute the jury pool.
I can always hope.
1
So Frank, tell us how you really feel about Trump! And how can I get one of those crystal balls you obviously have?
2
Nope, we'll never be free. We're stuck with the foot- and fingerprints of an indelible troll. Trump is a stain, fountain pen ink on a dress shirt -- ruinous.
Books chronicling his corruption will be written forever. And the discussion of what he has wrecked, ruined, ripped off, ripped up, ripped down ... that will go on strong for a generation, and beyond that, scholars will forever look back to analyze how Trump steered the car that is the United States and politics into a ditch even before his narrow, upset win in November 2016.
Nope, we've got the Trump stain. It's forever. Sadly.
293
@Wallyman6
Looking with impartial eyes in the UK, I think Trump will go down in history second only to Washington.
We love America again after way to many years.
@Wallyman6
I'm fine with books chronicling his corruption. Other than that, I think he will be banished sooner rather than later. Other than his white-nationalist, xenophobic, misogynistic base, we will have been collectively tired of hearing his voice and seeing his face.
8
@Wallyman6
Not just the Trump stain, we will have the Trump stench forever.
11
I can remember when Bill Clinton was well liked, even by me, and his family was going to establish a dynasty.
1
Let us seriously hope that all of his lies and scheming finally catch up with him in the form of indictments for all of the cheating, grifting and hating that he has perpetrated over many years. If his gaining the presidency has done anything, it has served to expose the depths of his dishonesty and corruption. Since he was never planning to win, but rather to cash in on the election, I doubt that he ever suspected so much of his vile behavior to be revealed. He operates on two principles--hatred and greed. Neither seem to have been stemmed by his procurement of this office--but just maybe this time he has played the role of Icarus and will fall just as far as he did.
1
Only the twenty second amendment will be able to get Trump out of office.
Good.
Let his infamy live forever.
Let his grandchildren curse him.
But some day, Frank, you too will be explaining to young ones how there really used to be a Republican party.
Yes, Frank, we will: on January 20, 2025, when his second term ends.
2
A first step toward shortening the shelf life of Trumpism would be for journalists like Frank Bruni to stop writing about him. Sure, cover him as long as he's president, but once he's out of office stop making everything he tweets a news story. Stop analyzing him. And that goes for Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric and Jared, too.
When he is indicted and convicted of campaign finance fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion, the judge will (because he's an ex-president, I suppose) place him under house arrest for life. Further, his phone will be confiscated, with the judge's stipulation that if he ever tweets one word, he will be off to federal prison. That'll fix his wagon....and bring blessed relief to a weary world.
Thanks a lot, Frank, for that cheerful prediction. Now tell us the good news about global warming.
Can we ever get rid of him? Only if we can get rid of the current racism based, neofascism infested Republican Party that supports him. But given its control of the majority of state governments, that will be difficult.
Oh, Mr. Bruni do you really believe DJT will leave quietly in January 2021 after his thumping defeat in November 2020? No, he will try everything in his power including all dirty tricks his enablers on Fox “news” can muster to declare November 2020 election fraudulent.
He will resort to every constitutional and illegal maneuver to declare those election null and void and if Republication continue to hold majority in US Senate they will silently stand by while the already stacked up Supreme Court with Trumpkins condones and looks the other way. Thus, we will truly have Drumpf dynasty in the United States.
1
He's going to do all that from jail?
It behooves the media to take advantage of their option of NOT covering dtrump in the aftermath of his besmirched administration. Once he's out of the Oval Office the peoples of the world should be graced by a blanket of calm, dtrump free news. Let him tweet and twitter to his hearts delight, but let his suspect missives fall to blind eyes. He deserves total "Ozymandian"obscurity. And the world will be a far, far better place with him relegated to an Elba of his own choosing (or better yet, a chilly cell in a court appointed hoosegow).
Please, please, please media do the right thing not the commercially attractive thing and let go of him when he is out of office. You will be the only reason any of us will be forced to be conscious of him at all. We don't have to watch his media outlets but we do need mainstream news. Don't sell your souls to the devil as all the sycophants in the Republican party and in his orbit have done. Let's relegate him back to the sensationalism of the scandal rags where he belongs.
I keep remembering what Brad Parscale, the manager of the Trump 2020 campaign stated earlier this month:
“Buy the official Trump marker, which is different than every other marker on the market, because this one has the special ability to drive @CNN and the rest of the fake news crazy!”adding the hashtag: “#KeepMarkersGreat.”
This guy "sought to capitalize on the attention by offering to sell pens with the president’s signature on them; a set of five went for $15."
This guy isn't merely drinking the Kool-Aid but is actually inventing new flavors which sadly and scary the Trump base are actually buying into.
Whenever Trump leaves office, the presidency will be shrouded with a permanent stain of disgrace, disrespect, shame and embarrassment. It's that stain, like oil on a white carpet, that we will never be rid of.
3
One of the genius features of American democracy is the peaceful transition of power.
tRump, an ignorant, immature narcissist, is immune to all restraints, as he demonstrates daily.
What in heavens name makes anyone think he would surrender his office? Why exactly? Because it's always been done that way before?
Yeah right.
The only way we get him out of our Oval Office is to scrape him out by main force.
Think about it: he will not leave willingly.
Don't wait. Impeach. Remove. Tar and Feather.
3
his indelible presence is/will be due to the obsession of his haters...instead of a cogent anti-trump political offensive the faux dems humiliated by their complacency (includes you too, bub) chose the schoolyard insult and rant road, subverting actual debate...(michelle obama's high road?) leaving true progressives without a party voice...roosevelt's ghost spinning in its grave, lenin's dancing on it.
Once he gets out of office I believe he will get the total shunning he’s so sorely deserves now. The only reason he has any relevance he is because he’s president. Besides they won’t let him have his cell phone in prison !!
From a long incarceration, with a battery of visiting lawyers, living inside a prison cell, jailed, in his post DJT's presidency, I do not see and think DJT will "be an omnipresence" in our daily lives. The chaos will wind down slowly, healing will begin. Hope is 419 days away. Vote Tuesday November 3, 2020.
1
I expect it will be difficult for him to do this from a jail cell.
- Tom
1
Electing Trump was the right-wing lifting the lid on Pandora's box, with all the evils of our racist, greedy, and irrationally resentful society spilling out, all over us. John Brown of Harper's Ferry infamy said, right before he was hanged, "I am now convinced that the crimes of this guilty land can only be purged by blood." I'm now wondering if he wasn't just predicting the Civil War, but a bloodbath (metaphorically; but also, perhaps, realistically) perpetrated by deranged Trump supporters (urged on, of course, by the Trumps) that could ensue when the people of this country try to shove the raw evil of the Trump "dynasty" back in the box.
What a shame that at the same time we are commemorating the most awful physical attack of terror on American soil, we are currently muddling through the most horrible psychic one.
Anyone who supports Trump has already forgotten 9/11, if they ever even absorbed its meanings and lessons.
1
Or he'll be in jail.
1
No, what will live forever is not Trump, but the stink of the shame that tens of millions of our fellow citizens willingly & with eyes open voted in this dictator-loving racist enabler of environmental disaster etc., etc. onto the world stage, complete with the Nuclear Codes.
I apologize for the United States of America to the world, and only hope that one day I can stop holding my breath.
Trump will be written out of our consciousness once he's out of office, prosecuted for high crimes and imprisoned. That will take some time, but orange, indeed, will become the new black.
1
He'd be easier to forget if he were where he belongs- in jail
1
He needs to go to jail.
dear Nancy Pelosi, you are complicit, and it will be your signature issue -you refused to take a corrupt president and administration to task, and you were the only one who had the power to do it..
1
So long as white Americans who detest science and learning, who want to separate themselves from non-European people and culture, and who have a destructive civilizational disinterest in education and knowledge, then the ghosts of trump will haunt us in perpetuity.
Call me an optimist. Even though he has his base, I truly believe that the majority of Americans find Mr. Trump appalling. Hopefully the pendulum will swing and we’ll return to some measure of competence and civility. I never thought one individual could be so destructive. Lesson learned.
265
@Betsy Murphy How will we undo the damage he has done? The hacks he's installed in the judiciary are going to be there for decades. The public land he's sold off for nickels to the extraction industries aren't going to recover. The species that go extinct because of his obstructive and destructive policies aren't going to be back. Some of the damage will last for decades (at least) and some of it can never be undone.
63
@Betsy Murphy And that so many Americans could follow and AGREE with and promote his destruction.
That an entire political party (whose leaders originally thought they could mold him into a statesman and curb his more base impulses, that's a laugh) now bows to his wishes and kisses his behind, intimidated by his instability and seconding his cruelty.
His "base" scares me more than Trump does, as without them he is the aberration he should be. When I see a Trump rally, I am reminded of who comprises this base. When Hillary Clinton said "deplorables" she was not far off.
67
@Betsy Murphy
"I never thought one individual could be so destructive."
Neither did the Germans.
43
I keep hoping that the only time we ever hear Trump's name after he's out of office is in his obituary. When he's a private citizen, I hope the mainstream media ignores him, which, for him, would be death by a thousand cuts.
1
The reason we pay attention to him is because he’s slowly killing democracy with a little help from foreign despots, Moscow Mitch and American oligarchs. We can’t take our eyes off him because he’s a waking nightmare. At least if he was out of office, we could occasionally ignore him. In other words; if we don’t get him out soon we may never. And somehow an entire country is trapped by him and the potentiality of his awfulness.
2
Bruni is right that we won't ever forget Trump. The pity is that -- in no small part due to Trump's over-the-top awfulness -- we risk "forgetting" George W. Bush, who "at the the end of the day," as they say, has wreaked far more damage to humanity and life on Earth than Trump has or likely will.
Which would you rather deal with -- a terrible two or a teenage punk?
Let’s take some comfort that sometime soon his favored platform Twitter (or Twaddle, as I call it) will become obsolete, and he will be too far advanced along the dementia spectrum to use whatever takes its place. I do worry, though, that new platforms will involve holograms. The mind boggles at Trumpenstein living on forever as a hologram.
Regrettably, I don't have the good fortune of Mr. Bruni to be the toast of the HRC set and enjoy the finer things of an affluent east coast lifestyle. I'm condemned to suffer nattering Trumpists and work in an office where no one is tripping over themselves to affirm my gaydom. I live in Texas.
Americans have grown rich, entitled, and lazy - which in turn has made them greedy, selfish and cruel. Donald Trump didn't create that, he's a product of it and is its most visible exponent. He's all that is worst in America; he's a caricature of the dark heart at the core of our failing empire and rotting social life. Once he's out of office he'll likely disappear, but it will be another generation before his ghost is finally exorcised.
2
I'm not sure he'll make it through the elections. If Warren is the Democratic nominee she'll needle him into apoplexy, on air (I'd pay good money to see it.) Biden will bob and weave, alternating between his usual aw shucks Uncle Joe demeanor and the wound up, passionate, former Vice President ready to nail Trump's hide to the wall. Trump has no finesse, he's bluster and bullying. Win or lose he cannot live forever and there will be no Trump "dynasty" - the children evoke no adoring crowds on their own, have nothing meaningful other than titles and "plans". The real challenge will be to return government to a place that works for the people, ALL the people.
If Trump left office tomorrow, there’d still be lasting damage to the country.
Let‘s catalog the harm:
He’s withdrawn us from the Paris climate accord and wasted at least 4 years in the fight against global warming.
He’s packed the federal courts to an unprecedented degree. And the lifetime appointees are all right wing robots vetted by the Federalist Society to rule reliably on social and business issues.
He’s weakened all our alliances to the extent they can no longer trust us to be reliable partners in the future. Our allies have to recalibrate how they meet their challenges without our long term backing.
He’s probably done irreparable damage to our intelligence services. We rely on intelligence sharing with our allies, but they can no longer count on us to keep their secrets over the long term. And potential human sources will probably be far less likely to risk their lives if they can’t rely on us to keep them safe.
His trade wars are ill conceived and poorly managed. There will be long term ill consequences with China.
He’s allowed North Korea to develop a hydrogen bomb, ICBM’s, and more sophisticated short range missiles.
He’s hurt the chances for Middle East peace and allowed MBS to murder countless Yemenis.
And then there’s the unprecedented domestic divisions he’s fomented. Trump might be gone soon but his playbook remains. Trump often can’t get out of his own way, but a more capable Republican firebrand might take his place.
Worst. President. Ever.
2
I forgot to mention two more things.
Trump's tax cuts will hamper the treasury by extending trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. Unless, Dems win sufficient control in 2020, it can be very hard to undo tax cuts.
Trump's immigration policies have directly led to a marked reduction in legal immigration. We'll end up depriving our country of hundreds of thousands of future productive citizens and tax payers.
His policies are all based on lies and incompetence.
1
Mr Bruni is most likely completely correct. My biggest fear, however, is the next demagogue that uses this nationalist playbook to get into power and do real damage in a country still very divided.
Mr Bruni, you depict the future in such a frightening scenario, that it is likely to induce recurring nightmares for 52% of our population. We were once the foremost nation; the nightmares will turn us into a blathering bunch, twittering in tongues. So sad. So Sad.
As 48% of us like fairy stores, I suggest you write about the Extra Terrestrials who drained the Swamp. America achieving GREATNESS such that every American will not only live in but possess a 48 room mansion (fashioned by Trump), and every American will have a 18 hole golf course (a facsimile of the Royal & Ancient) of HIS OWN. Euphoria, Euphoria.
If Trump survives impeachment, he’ll almost certainly lose the election in 2020. However, he’ll claim the election was rigged and stolen from him by the votes from illegal immigrants. That will be his mantra going forward.
If Trump avoids prison after office, he’ll try to stay in the public eye as an aggrieved victim of the deep state and election fraud. No doubt he’ll also tease about running in 2024 and probably hold campaign style rallies as long as he draws crowds and gets publicity.
Trump’s businesses will probably suffer, but as long as he has the backing of Russian money, Trump won’t be gone until he’s embalmed.
After his 2020 loss, he will be a cipher. A loudmouthed cipher, but one nonetheless. The worst aftertaste will come from knowing that there are hundreds of thousands, or rather millions, of fellow citizens who have enough of a sociopathic nature to "resonate" with that toxic void of a man.
I love you Frank Bruni. But (yeah, there's a "but," because I guess my love is conditional) let me say that this has been apparent to me for several years. Plus, I would like to point out that it will not be just this ex-president and his family continuing to propagate (is that redundant?) this nonsense. There will be movies and books and, yes, even theatre, needlessly reminding us of what we dreadfully experienced. And like another, in my opinion, not great president, Republicans will roll out this one's corpse on a hand truck, every time it is convenient to push some "bad plan." Even in eventual death, this man will haunt us. Now, back to you Frank. I'll bet this is been on your mind a long time and are just now getting around to writing about it, because of all the other nonsense (created by you-know-who) you had to get out of the way, first. Thanks.
Mr. Bruni --- Thanks so much for my daily downer. ;-)
But you may be correct...which is why Trump and his progeny need to be tried, convicted, and imprisoned for their crimes after he is voted out or removed from of office of the presidency.
This is when I stop reading the not- fake -news. The future tsunamis that this president has foisted on everyone (worsening climate change, a coarsened culture) and all the future economic problems from run-away debt (well the elites will be ok with that) will have our attention. Then, as now, musing on the lives of the asinine, besides being a cautionary tale, will be an utter waste of time.
Fortunately Trump is not immortal (contrary to what I’m sure he thinks) and one day he will no longer walk this Earth. That day can’t come soon enough.
1
The real issue is we have a president that basically used a crayon on a weather report. And the administration admonishes and tells the scientists to agree with the person with the crayon or else face dire consequences.
Don’t worry about the after. Why aren’t moderates calling for impeachment? Why aren’t republicans?
I don't think any ex-President in the last 60 years other than John Kennedy is remembered beyond a at most a faint awareness of who they were. I think Kennedy is remembered because
Marilyn Monroe sang happy birthday to him. Why is Marilyn Monroe remembered? Because she was Marilyn Monroe. And clearly Trump is no Marilyn Monroe.
1
Post Trump: even more disruptive and destructive.
1
I don't agree. I don't think Trump will command much attention if he loses in 2020. Whether we will have learned our lesson about putting grossly unfit, narcissistic megalomaniacs into office is another matter. His cult-like followers numbering 40% of the American people are very worrisome indeed.
No, the real danger is that we won't be rid of him in 2020. The Democrats failed miserably in their attempt to expose and impeach him - if, in fact, they acted in good faith which seems dubious at this point - and that might weigh heavily on the electorate. If the Democratic leadership, with all the incriminating evidence they had at hand, did not think Trump deserved to be impeached, how are the voters supposed to know that this man should be expelled from office? To a majority of them he looks like just another incumbent riding an economic recovery into election day. Hard to beat that.
My only saving grace hopeful question is, what will he be able to do with - if he is allowed to have one - a black sharpie - in prison?
Maybe, he could fill in the areas between the black stripes of his garb and then tweet a selfie that he is not really behind bars! He's just given up the really long red necktie for a "fashionable" black jumpsuit.
Or, he could paint his scalp black? As I don't think there is hair and makeup available behind the black bars.
And, one can assume, he might have lots of options with lots of time on his (little) hands to ponder just what to do with that black sharpie behind those black bars.
I doubt he'll ever be prosecuted. I've thought for a long time that when he is truly backed up against the wall (no, not "that" wall!) he will do just what he did with his bankruptcies. Fight, fight, fight, all the time figuring out the best escape route, then when things are too much - just get the heck out of there.
Then he'll offer the deal of a lifetime: I will leave the White House if and only if I am guaranteed immunity from any and all legal liability for anything, and my whole family as well. Take it or leave it.
We'd be fools not to take it. But he'll walk, on his own terms, form the Martyr Network News and blather on until the day he dies.
His memory will be kept alive by our U.S.Supreme Court.
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The same court that will decide that his presidency should continue for another four years even if he technically loses the election. He will find a way to prevail, and we will just sit here dumbly in disbelief as we have during every outrage of his first term.
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And the lifetime appointed federal judges who were, for the most part, deemed wholly incompetent.
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Trump will forever be in the history book's worst POTUS ever!
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My hope that the Southern District of NY will put him behind bars for a long time.
Simple, for all you columnists and reporters: once he's out of office, simply stop writing about him. For once, just once, resist that herd instinct.
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Does this mean that our CTSD (Current Trump Stress Disorder) will be forever PTSD (Post Trump Stress Disorder)?
I believe not enough thought is being given to what he will do in the to-be-strongly-hoped-for event that he loses the election. The amount of damage that he can cause (up to and including declaring the election void) is incalculable. Are the institutions provided in our Constitution capable of getting him out of the White House? I hope so. Meanwhile, vote!
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@Fred Oh please. Lock his staff out when they go home for the night and don't let them back on the grounds. Then, cut off his Diet Coke and Big Macs, and reduce the cleaning stuff (he's a germophobe). He'll crawl out on his own.
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@Fred I've been saying the same thing as Trump gives every indication that is precisely what he'll do. It does make one keenly aware of how fragile and untested our democracy really is. Our constitution is but a mere piece of paper if the people are unwilling to enforce its terms.
Voters must turn out in unprecedented numbers because a stunning rebuke has never been more important.
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@Fred
Im pretty sure looking with foreign eyes that the Democrats seem to be the party unable to accept Trump won in 2016, so they surely must be prepared to receive what they give.
If its not fake Russian help or half statement racism it's impeaching a President who has lowered the unemployment to the lowest in 50 years and finally trying to sort slave state China out, and whether you believe or not over here in the UK we love his love of country even with the permanent media attack. A vote for a globalist again is a vote to be hated warmongering Americans. Sorry
Trump can only go on after presidency if the media takes him there. Without the daily (hourly) media reporting, no one would know or care (few do already).
"From true Class to pure Crass" -- meaning from Obama to Trump. Don't lose too much sleep about "never getting rid of Trump." All it takes is a second to compare him with Obama, and your faith and confidence in our country can be restored. I will add, though, that a silver lining of Trump's improbable time in the presidency is the comeuppance it has afforded, allowing all of us to finally shed the overused and overhyped trope of "American exceptionalism." We are as flawed as anyone. Trump will go down in history as an American Aberration and the butt of countless jokes.
1
NNNOOOooooooo!!!
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This article's title brings to mind a more sobering view of the departure of a self-aggrandizing bigot. In the 1960s, just before the Israelis hanged Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, he was reported to have said, "I hope that all of you will follow me," and "We will meet again soon." His words were taken as a reminder that the evil that Eichmann helped to foster would live after him. The worst of Trump, like the worst of Eichmann, is the banality of the evil he has conjured up in the mindless followers he has attracted. What will we do about them when Trump is gone?
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Frank, you must have been asleep during the rise of the Tea Party, America's Taliban. And, the Tea Party is a fascist organization supported by the Koch Brothers and all they represent (represented). Before that it was Newt Gingrich and the rise of the unethical, uncouth, republican.
With Trump they finally jumped their shark. The American people will soon forget Trump as he fades to black. Well, orange, actually. He will follow much of his family and the core of the fascists cult he created. Hopefully, Mitch McConnell will follow.
But, if not, we will be in a civil war. The American people won't stand for further decline.
4
Donald Trump got elected in response to the same-o do nothing politics that has too long been shoved down the American people’s throats via the incompetence and self-serving intent of establishment Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, and conservative-reactionary Republicans that have jointly held sway.
Administration after administration has for years overlooked the interests of masses of American people that increasingly have felt looked down on and disregarded in terms of their salt-of-the-earth dreams of what makes America great for them and their dependent loved ones. The incineration of same-o establishment politics sounded good to masses of citizens so hot under the collar that they turned to support TV-figure Trump who had become known for dismissively saying “YOUR FIRED.”
The exasperation fueled anger of these people had been forecast forty years before in the old movie “Network.” In this satirical forecast of the future, nightly TV news announcer Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) inspires his frustrated viewing audience to dash to their windows, throw them open, and yell into the dark of night, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" In place of making substantive change for all, the politics over the ensuing years has just been “there’s no business-like show business,” and masses of Americans have become totally fed up with the act.
Biden is trying to sneak on center stage by pushing “ANYONE BUT TRUMP WILL DO.”
4
But he’s a plutocrat. Look at his policies. Not his words. He is only making the rich richer. He does not care about you.
For crying out loud, Frank, stop giving that village idiot so much ink. Every single day I am assaulted by another writer who is giving that ego-maniac the platform he desires. All the media have fallen victim to the very things we hate about the Trump family. Write more about how the Congress of the US, just like Trump, is using the media as a tool. How Congress leaches off the people. How Congress has screwed Americans over left ad right. I have lost all faith in what was the Nation I fought and bled for.
2
Impeach, indict, imprison.
5
We is all trumpz now.
A President of United States, spends his Sunday evenings attacking a great Musician and his taleted Chef and Model of a wife John Legend and Chrissy Teigen , when the Country is at crisis.
This liar and a demagogue of a Presicent should be defeated by someone who will Work if elected.
2
Here’s an idea—try beating him at the ballot box! You know you can’t—
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Um, we did defeat him, and W, at the ballot box.
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Looking forward to the Trump Presidential Library!
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Forget the Sharpie....use White-Out instead...
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"There is no black Sharpie to write him out of our consciousness" but will see soon handcuffs on him when he is done.
4
There is a very good chance he'll be ranting from an asylum or federal penitentiary.
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Or...he'll be in jail
3
he'll be tweeting from prison
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On top of all you wrote, he, his family, and his mob will have all the secrets that come with the position of president. In his demented state, who will he share our secrets with? He will continue to put our nation and all nations at risk, promote anti-immigration, anti-climate change, anti-ethnic lies, and forever jack up those who love his vulgar personality.
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As president, Trump is uniquely entitled to release any national secrets he wants. But once Trump is no longer the president, he’s not entitled to spout national secrets any more than any other person with a temporary clearance.
@Michael Tyndall .
But he has such a big tweeting mouth and can't seem to hold himself back...from destruction of our democracy. He's good at tweet, destruct, blame, lie, tweet, destruct, blame, spew...he'll find a way, Michael Tyndall, but I hope you're logic wins out.
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Where the media fails: Blowing up the idea of the dynasty. All anyone in the TrumpWorld has to do is say something absurd - and the media are all over it. Do the media have to blow up everything they say, no matter how stupid? This is how the media created this monster, and they don’t seem to learn anything. Anything for a buck.
The madness is ramping daily. When he sees he is going to lose badly in 2020 the likelihood of criminality will reach 100%. And that is where we can contain post-presidency this nasty silver fish that has brought us so low. Rigorous prosecution and a long prison term will slam that mewling yapper tight.
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"No, he’ll be tweeting, bleating, ranting and raging in precisely the manner that he is now, just without the nuclear codes."
Unless, ..., unless, ... he ends up where he belongs, deprived of cell phone and TV, in a modest room with bunk and toilet conveniently close.
1
Lets put the responsibility for this scenario squarely where it belongs - the media. The media has a love/hate relationship with Trump because he generates views and clicks and therefore advertising revenue. Sure, post-WH Trumpet can tweet his little heart out all the day long and those that want to pay attention will certainly do so, but it’s the media that shoves him up our collective rear day after day whether we like it or not. When he is no longer occupying the Oval Office, there will be no reason to keep covering his every twitch other than the self-interest of the media.
There are only two situations where he is removed from our daily national consciousness after this debacle is over - one of them is for the press to stop giving him an endless forum for his foolishness the minute he takes that last helicopter ride off the White House lawn.
Donald Trump should be tried in a court of law for his crimes, along with anyone who assisted him. The fact that he likely will simply be removed from office and be free to complaint and squeal really chaps my behind.
Once he's out of office, I could live a lifetime never hearing his name again. But since he a wealthy, con man with a big mouth, I will more than likely have to shut off the news, and watch cat videos instead.
2
He will refuse to leave the White House....and the NRA will be there with their military-like guns to protect him...He and the White House will ascend to the heavens and plop down on the Gaza Strip where he will open up an absolutely fabulous 120-story Trump hotel.....thus proving to the world his magical genius.....
1
The thought of being subjected to El Jefe de Mara Lago in perpetuity is equivalent to my vision of hell on Earth.
Unfortunately, in America, he still has the right to spew his nonsense. Fortunately I can endeavor to avoid it.
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Let's not forget that if Trump loses in 2020, there is nothing preventing him from running again in 2024. He will make sure he stays in the headlines for those 4 years in between. Sad but true.
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@Dustin - Surely he will have stroked out in prison by 2024.
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This is very negative, and unnecessarily so. Even writing it gives it breath. Move on, think of other things, write of other things - tell us a powerful inspiring story - you are good at that.
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If Donald Trump should come to the end of his rule in 2020, my understanding (or at least, my highest hope) is that he will be arrested and charged for any number of his evil deeds, both while in office and before. And when their father is facing this kind of destiny, I cannot imagine either Don Jr or his sister launching their own political lives.
But only if he is done by 2020. If something else should happen, If he somehow wins in 2020, then Mr. Bruni’s darkest predictions will likely come true. Your future would be an eternal night, ruled by the Trumps and your democracy with its freedoms would be finished.
Perhaps the apocalyptic images of Trump’s inaugural speech weren’t intended to describe the American landscape he’d inherited but rather the one he intended to pass on once he and his family were done chowing down on your once great country. Please do not let this happen.
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The despairing message that Frank Bruni sends will do nothing to encourage people to vote Trump out of office next year.
If the Trump Brand will live on well after he leaves the White House, as Bruni argues, too many might say, "What's the point of voting in 2020 if he's always going to be with us?"
It doesn't make much to discourage many from bothering to cast a ballot.
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Mr. Bruni writes: ". . . there’s the strong possibility. . . that he’ll establish his own media enterprise."
The Republicans are already a media enterprise. They have lost all interest in administering the government. They are purely political theater.
The difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party is the difference between attending a pro wrestling match, and attending a meeting of the local school board.
4
Am I the only one worried about the lengths Trump will go to in order to win in 2020? Negative interests rates? Deporting legal immigrants with life-threatening illnesses? Rolling back environmental protections? I am terrified by thoughts of the horrors he can inflict on this nation to keep his base energized for the next 13 months.
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As David Cay Johnston said (I paraphrase), "We're beyond the point where there's any possibility that the Trump Administration will end well."
1
Tweeting forever? Do they allow cell phones in prison? He's broken enough state laws to live out his retirement behind bars.
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Well, as for the place he occupies in the weltanshauung of the American people as a former prsident: with any luck, that will be up to the prison authorities of his post-presidency residence.
4
Donald Trump needs to go to prison. That will make things right.
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Sad but true Mr. Bruni.
Never Ever be rid of him? Dynasty? Decades?
I'm going back to bed.
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I don't doubt that other commenters whom I don't have time to search out already have said something to this effect, but we never should take Donald Trump out of our consciousness. He always should be an emblem of what we must avoid for the sake of the country and the world.
5
I'm sure at least a thousand of your comments on this column are in this same vein, but it can't be emphasized enough: Trump damages America and the world the most while he's in office. I don't care if we're never totally rid of him, as long as he's not the President or the de facto head of a major political party. If he were in jail by the way, at least his bleating might be somewhat restrained...just saying.
1
The Democrats are still talking about impeachment of President Trump. I cannot believe it but I should not be surprised. They have tried to remove President Trump from office since he won to no avail. They are only hurting themselves because Americans will not tolerate this impeachment nonsense talk. This is a good way for them to definitely lose the presidential election in 2020 not to mention losing local elections as well. Go ahead Democrats. You are just handing President Trump a second term. This is not a bad thing because he had made America great again and will continue making it great.
5
Why do you not envision Trump's future as a prisoner, an office for which he is overqualified?
3
"We Will Never, Ever Be Rid of Donald Trump"..........
We may well get rid of Donald Trump the President.....
BUT
The national and international damage this man has wrought will be years, possibly decades in repairing - if it is even at all possible........
America's experiment in Presidential ego has been a national disaster.....What could we, the midwesterners, the Republicans have been thinking too elect this sociopathic failure of simple decency as our President, our leader?..........
4
Please, please, please, "Let go of him and all the eyeballs he draws." You (NYT and every other media outlet) helped get us into this mess, show some responsibility by not continuing the PTSD nightmare that is Trump.
Do it for your country.
3
No; tragically you will never be able to blot out the stain that is Donald Trump. Anymore than you can blot out Richard Nixon. All one could hope for is enough Americans learn what having an Authoritarian, know nothing, xenophobic, and egomaniac like Trump in the White House for 4 years (let alone 8) will leave scars on your nation that may never heal. I could get on my soapbox about how Americans could ever swallow the Trump Kool-Aid to begin with; but that would not help now. One remembers how the G.O.P. tried to "rehabilitate Nixon", years after Watergate. By and large they failed. If they could not do it for "Tricky Dick," they will never be able to do it for,"Agent Orange," either. It has been said that no one ever went bankrupt over betting against the over all intelligence of the general American public. Sadly 2016 proved that true yet again. One just has to wonder what it will finally take for the G.O.P. to realize they are sowing the seeds of the death of their own party. The Trump brand will stick to them like a bad stench for years to come. The question is can America regain it`s moral and mental center before the damage is permanent and irreversible. Only time will tell about how long that will take.
3
I think it’s not super classy to criticize the intelligence of a country. Trump lost the popular vote, and many many Americans have found his presidency to be devastating.
Obviously there are people who can fall for conmen all over the planet. It is part of human nature that is not uniquely American.
If the people in the US are too meek to shut Trump down in their personal spaces, then they deserve to listen to his rantings. Why follow him on Twitter? Shut him out. The problem I see is our media hanging on every word, every tweet like he is a leader. The media needs to get their act together and quit enabling the scourge that has been cast upon the US.
2
All the more reason to have Trump end of in jail where he belongs. No cell phones allowed.
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You are a true professional Frank, a true professional indeed!
1
I’m wondering who, a la Roger Stone, is getting a tattoo on his back...
Can’t tweet from prison.
2
Is one allowed to tweet from prison?
2
As long as he is tweeting, bleating and raging from a jail cell...I'm fine with it.
2
If the only shaming of Trump is losing the election in 2020, America will still be infected with Trumpian values, for his followers will have reason to keep following. But if he is impeached, imprisoned, thoroughly shamed, there may be a glimmer of hope to wash his filth off our culture. We will never be cleaned, but the washing could start. For example, his MAGA hats would never be worn again with the proper shaming.
2
Ah, Mr. Bruni, you are still a young man. My father liked to remind me (and himself) that “Tout passe, tout casse, tout lasse” (eventually “everything passes, everything breaks, everything becomes tiresome”). I cannot see the future but I am convinced that this bizarre historical blip will have no more impact on people’s lives and thoughts than the XVIIth century Dutch Tulip Mania. Cheer up!
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@Claude Vidal
Mr Vidal, the Dutch still LOVE the Tulips. They are the largest growers of Tulips and one can even buy Tulip bulbs onLine - delivered to you in perfect condition all the way from Holland. The Dutch love of Tulips is lasting.
11
@Claude Vidal
So you are saying it will take several centuries to recover?
19
@Claude Vidal Tell that to the farmers who are going bankrupt because of Trump's pointless trade war. Tell that to the women who can't get a safe, legal abortion because of the administration's battle against Planned Parenthood. And tell that to the families who will go hungry if Trump succeeds in cutting SNAP benefits. Maybe Trump is a blip in your middle-class life, but he's a raging disaster to millions of others.
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Trump may self-destruct at the indifference he will be shown upon the end of his presidency. The world will move on and the attention will dwindle. He'll be compelled to escalate until the fabled line is actually (finally!) crossed.
It could be even worse. If Trump loses in 2020, he could run again in 2024. Then the media would have to cover him.
2
Of course Trump will do all he can to continue to torture us when out of office. However, Trump will be a private citizen, albeit a former president. I hope the media will consider the source -- and ignore his inevitable bloviating that should have no relevance after he's gone.
3
All I have to say is that, should we be able to rid ourselves of the Trump family in the next election, it will be very interesting to see what happens to what is left of the Republican Party. In particular, will it have to face up to the systematic racism/bigotry which has got it where it is now and do something about it, or will it be able to continue to chug along with the remnants of it's vicious "Southern Strategy" of Atwater/Manifort/Stone and the "Christians?"
2
"And we in the media will confront a decision: Give him what he wants, or let go of him and all the eyeballs he draws?"
Frank - hasn't the media already made that decision decades ago? From his relentless presence in the NYC tabloid market to 60 Minutes interviews and journalists and authors knowingly spreading his lies through Forbes and The Art of the Deal. And let's not forget his press conference badgering President Obama about his birth certificate. The media simply cannot resist.
With that said, my understanding is he is still indictable for his crimes if he loses in 2020. Your piece is moot on this issue.
I am hoping the media give him all the eyeballs he can handle when he walks into federal and/or state court to answer for his crimes.
2
If we lock him up (after due process, of course) and take his phone away, we never need to hear from him again.
3
Disagree. Not a fair comparison. He defines the cult of personality. And he would be an ex-president while she earned nothing. He is far more cruel and manipulative not to mention wealthier and more able to create this post presidency thorn in the side of democratic decency. And finally there is no one I or most anyone can think of who possesses such an insatiable appetite for attention as does this aberration of a human being.
Frank,
You forgot to include one thing. On the way out, he will pardon himself and his family for any and all crimes committed. You say it violates the constitution, who is going to check him? Not the current SCOTUS.
2
We should never forget Trump … we're seeing first-hand what happens when someone manifestly unfit to govern is, through our arcane system, awarded the Presidency despite the popular vote … someone who perjured himself when he swore to defend and uphold the Constitution … someone who uses the office for shameless self-dealing and personal profit. That this could happen despite our system of "checks and balances" is an alarm that must be heeded, and those intended safeguards need to be strengthened and enforced to ensure that it doesn't happen again. What doesn't kill us will make us stronger. In that regard, Trump's legacy (if he doesn't kill us first) may ultimately preserve us.
1
This op-ed leaves out the most important aspect of Trump.Health permitting. Mental health. The man has gone downhill steadily since taking office, and the slope is getting steeper. By this time next year he's going to be much worse. The only question is, when is this decline going to become incapacitating? May it be soon.
1
I would say that everyone prepare for the Great Republican Memory Loss. As soon as Trump is no longer president, the GOP will try act as though he never existed. Trump who??
They totally believe that they can escape what they have done: enable and support the worst president in history, and we don't know know half of the story yet.
2
That's about as depressing a look forward as I have read.
1
That is a horror story that will come true. He will not go 'quietly into that good night'. Please, members of the press, ignore the man until he dies, please. I look forward to the day when he becomes like, Grover Cleveland, a blemish on the presidency and remembered with regret that he was ever elevated to that position of power and influence.
1
An oblique approach to a man I loathe, who is at the same time the perfect president for a nation rooted in genocide, slavery, and massive environmental destruction unprecedented in human history. He is a mirror of our collective shadow, and in this regard he is a perfect president. He is all that we don't want to look at in ourselves, and he will only go away when we take a good hard long look at who and what we are - and then work to completely change it.
1
I can accept that Trump lives in our national bloodstream, so long as it is as a cautionary tale to students and skeptics about the dangers of excess, the perils of ignorance, the isolation of xenophobia, and the emptiness of anger. May we all remember his example and heed the unintentional lesson he has given us.
If Trump loses in 2020 (please, please, if there is a god), he’s still free to run again in 2024. Of course that’s barring imprisonment.
2024 is a political eternity from now, but if Trump maintains his sway over the Republican electorate he might make a strong run at another nomination. That’s particularly true if Dems stumble in office or Mitch manages to obstruct the progressive agenda.
Regardless, I’m sure Trump will try to keep himself relevant, no matter what the establishment thinks. He never really thought he’d win in 2016, and mostly wanted to massage his ego and burnish his brand (not that turned out to be smart). As long as he has the backing of Russian money, Trump won’t go away.
So this op-ed and the most popular comments and Time's "Picks" are all hostile to Trump - most wishing that he spend the rest of his post-presidential life in jail.
Is that supposed to be somehow cathartic? If you don't want him to be re-elected, get the democratic vote out in the swing states. But just spouting hatred - really, what's the point?
Frankly, looking at the worst things US presidents have done over the past 200 years, nothing Trump had done so far would even make the top 10 (considering the awful wars, nuclear proliferation, treatment of African-Americans, slavery, treatment of native-Americans, failure to anticipate 9/11, etc.).
5
As long as the media continues to give him the attention that he so desperately craves, yes, we will never be rid of him.
2
Unless Twitter does the right thing and enforces their terms of service. He only survives on twitter now because as President what he says is newsworthy. As a private citizen it’s a whole different story especially when he obliquely calls for an armed insurrection agaist the Democrats for cheating him out of office (if he loses next year) or not giving him back his “lost time” if he makes it through a second term and is termed out.
Twitter needs to have a plan now to deal with it lest they wind up being the enablers of “Civil War 2”
Maybe others commenting here have beat me to the punch when I state that the hope of all hopes is that after his occupancy of the Oval Office will be occupancy in prison. For conviction of a career white collar criminal, it would be some justice. Take that for a legacy.
1
Perhaps the only consolation to be hoped for is that the Southern District of New York will indict our presidential buffoon, try him for campaign finance violations and convict him of fraud. One hopes other similarly positioned protectors of our justice system will find justification for similar, parallel prosecutions. They are there to find. May he be arrested, tried and found guilty as charged and punished to the maximum allowed by law.
You are wrong, Mr. Bruni. After Trump is defeated [handily] next November, and a Democrat is inaugurated in January, 2021, New York state attorney general, Leticia James, will finally let loose the indictments she's currently holding for the entire Trump Crime Family. Surely Trump will not be able to tweet from prison.
Trumps presence, heavy as it is in pomposity, ego and bold speak works in keeping the words and actions of the worst progressives on the second level.
That is a good thing.
I am a Trump supporter, purely deplorable but the Tweets at times are infuriating. I'm not a huge fan of the adult children. Ivanka has no business in D.C. in my opinion.
Once he leaves office his influence will be felt. I hope he loses Twitter. The good deeds he worked to establish will be diminished under the cacophony and constant bombardment Twitter invites.
Im not going to lie...I threw up a bit on that headline. Really hoping with every ounce of my being that americans don't send us all on the trump trip for another 4 years. The last 3 have been awful - I cant remember a bleaker time for public discourse and common decency. You can do it America...for all of us.
2
George W. Bush has become a footnote, as has Nixon. Trump is destined for the dustbin of presidential history. A lesson learned and not to be repeated.
1
He can't tweet if he's in Federal Prison. And all of his family's graft and abuse of their temporary positions in power while in Washington should and will be investigated. The Trump empire will fall, in a spectacular fashion, and hopefully the dissolution and sell-off of all his confiscated properties will pay for some of the taxpayer money spent at his endless golf trips to Mar A Lago.
There is a way to prevent all this: LOCK HIM UP. He deserves prison for how he has shredded the Constitution.
1
Given everything he’s done so far I can’t imagine him going quietly. That being said if the media had not given him millions of dollars of free air time, why would we think that any of you would behave any differently after he is gone. Perhaps you guys should start ignoring him a little more now. How long will established, we’ll educated journalists continue to lower their standards by giving him any more attention? A bully is only powerful if you give them attention.
1
Hopefully, when Trump leaves office the media will give us a break. If not, then they ought to be, legitimately, called-out for creating "fake news."
Given that the Trumplicans defeated Democrats in 2 congressional elections last night I suggest that the insanity of private-citizen-no-nuke Trump should be the least of your concerns.
Since he will be in jail he won't be able to tweet from his Presidential Library the first constructed bu necessity in a federal prison.
1
Take the pledge. I, for one, pledge that on Jan. 21, 2021, I will no longer click open any news article with the name Trump in the headline. (I'm already getting pretty good at it; but alas, today I failed). The media's insatiable appetite for anything Trump has compounded and amplified the three ring circus that has been this administration. He yanks their chain, pulls their strings, and pushes their buttons and they fall right into it every time. It has become this sick dance that the country has been suckered into.
On 1/21/21, hopefully, Mr. Trump will be met with a stack of indictments and one can only hope, many gag orders to follow. To the extent that Jr. and Ivanka (don't forget Jared) want to capitalize on the legacy, let them. It will serve to keep the ashes of what's left of the Republican Party smoldering as a reminder of should never happen again.
Always good to read the NYT Trumpian "rant de-jour." Outside the Upper-West Side, Cambridge, Berkeley axis more reasonable people think the following: 1. The nation and yes even the Republican party will survive Trump. 2. For all of his foolishness and yes nastiness, Trump has been a voice for some very uncomfortable truths (ie - China has to be challenged). 3. The Trumps are not the Kennedy's or the Bush's - never gonna happen.
2
I am looking forward to visiting the trump presidential library after he leaves office. It will be located in a closet in a trump branded hotel, and will have 3 copies of The Art of the Deal - that's it. An adjacent gift shop will sell you trump wine, trump steaks, and probably the trump-rebranded Brooklyn Bridge.
1
If anyone, anywhere, ever says to me again, “We need an outsider as president,” I’m gonna pop him one.
2
I actually look forward to the indictment and arrest of the Trumps for racketeering and fraud... Do they get secret service protection in prison...?
1
I don't know, Mr. Bruni. I don't read or listen to news much anymore because there is just no point. I don't associate with anyone who openly supports him, and by extension the destruction of our country. I'll still vote, I'll still do what I can outwardly to care for myself, family, my community in sane ways. Maybe others can allow a lowlife to drain or live in their inner space, but not me.
1
The more critical problem are the millions of deludedTrump supporters who believe every lie is the truth and will sacrifice any ethics to be winning. Who knows what worse miscreant they will follow in the future?
2
"We Will Never, Ever Be Rid of Donald Trump."
Of course not. Any more than we will be rid of racism, segregation, the KKK, or the entire legacy of slavery. The same is true for nativism, anti-Semitism and other religious bigotry, or regional and cultural prejudice. This country, for all its idealism and real nobility, has had a dark underside, at least ever since the Pilgrims - and slaves - arrived in 1620 & 1619 respectively. And our forbears were exterminating the natives even earlier.
Nothing in Trumpism is new. What Trump has done is to mobilize longstanding hate and fear in the age of social media. A greater challenge than removing him from office will be thereafter governing a country with many tens of millions who revel in Trump's dreck.
2
Bruni's opinion is so optimistic. The Orange Horror in the White House is never going to leave even if he's voted out, which I have serious doubts that he will be. He needed only 77,000 or so votes to win in 2016. Those votes were carefully honed out of key battleground states. Russia's and Cambridge Analytica's part in this will probably never be known. For anyone who's interested, watch The Great Hack on Netflix. Chilling.
But, back to the point at hand. If Colonel Bone Spurs wins by, say, only 15 votes, there will never be a recount, because . . . Bush v. Gore. If he loses by 12 votes, there will be a recount, and he'll emerge victorious. Because . . . the Supreme Court.
If he actually loses, like, in a landslide, then he'll declare a national emergency and martial law, shut down the entire country, and do whatever he wants for the next several years.
Why am I so pessimistic? Because despite all the horrific things he's done and is doing right now, NO ONE is stopping him. No one.
1
Well, we will. The only people likely sad to see him leave the presidency will be media outlets whose readerships and digital views have increased exponentially since he entered the White House. The rest of us will be relieved from the oppressive free marketing he gets, and perhaps even start to believe in — and fix — our democracy.
Most Americans believe that they can do whatever they wish because the constitution gives them permission....no matter if what they do is moral or immoral, decent or indecent, or right or wrong. With this kind of total freedom the future will have no need of prisons, law enforcement agencies, nor law books. Why? Because if the law allows you to do what you want, then there is no wrong you can do.
Blessed are those who do not see yet believe. To those who believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We will be rid of Donald Trump, if we rid ourselves of his enablers, the current GOP. The current GOP is the real enemy of our democracy and until and unless we get rid of them, there will be plenty of Trump's in our future!
As Christopher Leonard very adeptly points out, he kept the Koch Industries from gaining more power. My point is, what is on its way is far worse, and we will be so consumed by the onslaught Leonard illustrates in his book titled Kochland we will long for the days of the orange clown of bone spurs.
But we can ignore him. The media won't have to cover him. Let him bleat and blather all he wants. He will seem pathetic, which, let's face it, he is. At some point, we will move on. Within twenty years, he'll be gone. To future generations, he'll be like Warren Harding, or Herbert Hoover, a name that people sort of recognize, but not really. Can't wait for that moment, though I won't be around either.
I hope Palin is the template for Trump. She's a joke nowadays and here's hoping Trump will be the coming joke.
1
I'm not one for throwing Bible verses around, but here's a reading from the second letter of Paul to Timothy, KJV Chapter 3, apposite in this day and age: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such, turn away."
1
Donald Trump, America's carney showman, reality TV star President will never leave our American consciousness, as you say, Frank Bruni.
Trump's loyalists adore him and his loathers hope he will be gone "in a very short period of time". May there not be a Trump dynasty. May Melania be freed from her golden cage. May Sharpiegate and trumpian shenanigans, beloved by his base, become Watergate Redux.
How can we forget on this 18th Anniversary of 9/11, how Donald Trump gloated that his Trump Building at 40 Wall Street was the tallest downtown building in Manhattan as the Twin Towers fell? We cannot erase his words from our national memory.
1
"Lock him up"..... That's what should happen to the "Commander in Cheat" (yes, that's a Rick Riley book, by the way), who has been laundering money, defaulting on loans, cheating on his taxes for years.
That should be the chant at every Democratic Rally between now and the next Presidential election.
And how about challenging his love for the military and his patriotism while the Dems are at it at their rallies. The 1st thing, the middle thing, and the last thing they should emphasize is that he was a draft dodger when my peers were going to Vietnam to be killed.
It would be a subject of great joy to discuss him in the past tense after November 2020...
Wow, Frank! I may be naive but once the Republican president is out of office the Southern District of New York and the New York Attorney General will have some indictments for him and his progeny! The Trumps may be fantasizing about the future of Iavanka and Junior but it’s just that a fantasy! Their patriarch will be (and already is ) a pariah!
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@Mari I contact the NY AG daily. She is my hero.
20
@Mari. It is crucial that the full force of the law be brought against Trump the minute he is out of office if for no other reason than to keep him from running again in 2024! No pardon, no commutation, no clemency. He will be highly dangerous if he is allowed to remain above the law and foment the worst divisions and conspiracies on this country that he has already so damaged.
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@Mari My hope is that they are already getting a cell ready for him in Sing Sing.
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I fear Frank Bruni is right.
Trump will never leave on his own. It is my secret dream that after being defeated in 2020, Trump is jailed without access to social media.
Twitter can then delete his accounts, and we can try to scrub the stains of dishonesty, misogyny, and xenophobia from our souls.
Alas, academics and news talking heads will be discussing this rein of chaos for at least a decade. There are hundreds of Ph.D.s to be earned examining the mischief and mayhem that HRH 45 has bestowed upon his friends and foes.
Books will be written by the score.
We will NEVER be completely rid of him.
PTSD, Post Trump Stress Disorder, is poised to strike.
You can't go higher than being president, more famous or more covered in the media. So, the day he's not president is the first day of being forever less than he was, no matter what he does to Make Donald Great Again.
And Donnie and Marie...er, I mean Ivanka, they will have to live the rest of their many years having the people they most want to impress hiss and spit at them any chance they get.
Thanks Dad.
While we're at it, could we please stop using the words "administration" and "policy" in reference to this White House? Terms like that presuppose some sort of planning, forethought, goals, and competence. The standard language of journalism is no longer adequate to describe the chaos we've been witnessing.
Mr. Bruni is as good as it get...however, I predict Trump will be ignored once his Presidency ends.. Most voters are tired of his antics and chaos
1
.... and thy call me Debbie Downer. Good morning Frank.
2
My only comfort in all this is that at the end of the day, Trump knows, deep down, that no one likes or respects him and that the only reason anyone is around him or tolerates him at all is for whatever money they think he has.
He is a nothing--an obnoxious nobody.
The sooner we get him out of the White House, the better.
I worry there exists a politician with a personality that is both clever and intelligent enough to understand and use dog whistles, who realizes narcissism must be hidden from public view and actually desires a nationalistic, right-wing government nurturing a resentful, apprehensive white populace.
This would not be "Trump Light." No, it would be "Trump Smart, Trump Sinister," who can win over a majority of voters for an authoritarian presidency that can and will subvert our democratic institutions. Trump will go away. "Trump Subtle" will be a problem. This is what I worry about.
What we hate about Trump is his reflection of ourselves. "Not me!" you might say. Check again.
One thing is certain Trump will go down as simply the worst President in history past present and future.
1
Thanks, Frank, for your ever intelligent insightful work. You mentioned that Trump will start his own media enterprise. It's already happened. I am sure it's his and his base's money behind a newspaper that is endlessly promoting itself on YouTube commercials and other places (my sister told me they are handing them out for free in NYC right now). The paper is called The Epoch Times. You must be aware of it. Some really good investigative reporting ASAP about what's behind that IS CRUCIAL.
1
Trump should have been invalidated in the 2016 election... no, before that when he was pretentious Reality Show host the Apprentice... no, before that when he was a egotistic NY Socialite... no, before that when he was a failed businessman.
Instead, he's floated to the top by sheer luck, ignorance on the part of supporters, and ambivalence by those who should have won over him.
This does not bode well for not just American society but others who follow in his image and being a blowhard.
The Trump phenomenon is two-fold. Trump the lying blowhard hero of reality TV, a real live JR Ewing...or Lonesome Rhodes is one thing. Without the true believers who buy every lie, applaud every boast, salivate over all the conspiracy theories, and love him because he hates who they hate, there would be no Trump presidency and constant folly. We'll still have the South with those rural voters who fear anything non-white and women who choose not to go forward with an unwanted or at-risk pregnancy. We'll still have heartland voters who despise liberal thinking and back a party who practices voodoo economics but transmits phony messages that they swallow hook line and sinker. The Conservatives took over state governments and Washington DC before Trump. Losing him to a tragic death or jail won't all of sudden make these people disappear or change their ways.
1
trump has gumption. But he's also an over 70, overweight human male and his power will fade with his health. He's already kind of dumb and useless but he still has gumption.If there is a coherent opposition that has vision, it will also have to have gumption, without gumption people will do only what's expected of them and only what others consider permissible for them to do.We are against global warming/climate change but won't do anything of substance to change it because we are too busy, too distracted, and too blind and can't summon the necessary gumption. Just imagine. If the young Thurnberg could convince a critical mass of students not to go to school but to be on the streets, within a year we'd be forced to do something about climate change. Without gumption nothing can be expected to happen. trump has gumption. Sad situation.
1
We are all mortal, even trump. He is not coming with me, Frank.
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In addition to Mr. Bruni's insightful albeit disturbing column, an article worth reading -- which serves as an ideal complement -- is "Trump Is Not Well," by The Atlantic's Peter Wehner, which reaches an inescapable conclusion: "Every day Donald Trump is president is a day of disgrace. And a day of danger."
The extreme disorders of personality, stability, character and competence we're forced to witness in this president each and every day tend to be numbing, but, for the sake of our country, the last thing we can afford is to be in denial:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/donald-trump-not-well/597640/
A " “Thelma and Louise” remake starring Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin" is actually a great idea
1
Why won't anyone say it? He will die like every other human. Without him,his family will have less influence. then it just takes time and it will pass.
The best way to get rid of Trump is to put him in prison. That's the only place where he can't cause trouble.
How long did his dad live? No man is immortal. Time will take care of him.
1
“I have an easier time imagining a “Thelma and Louise” remake starring Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin than I do the Trumps graciously beckoning the Warrens across the threshold of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” — Frank Bruni
Bruni quips about the unlikelihood of trimp accepting an electoral defeat, but he grimly acknowledges the bitter gravity of our situation (which many are so eager to revel about).
A careful reading of Bruni’s piece should make it clear that, in the trimp aftermath, there will be NO return to normalcy—or any “traditional order” that Elijah Cummings may still so earnestly yearn for. (A careful reading of US history, should make it clear that such a reversion would be not at all desirable even if it were ever possible.)
Impeachment proceedings, even if they fail in the Senate, should be considered inevitable - except NOTHING is inevitable.
Most white Americans might still be able to imagine that such “politics” are too far above them - or “beneath” them. Those with informed imaginations might shudder at the prospect of how future media will contest for our “attention” - or shudder I say “souls”.... But the stakes are higher in terms of terror and compromise and betrayal (or much “lower” in visceral terms of blood and guts - or “gritty” in terms of streets, prisons, a yet to be devised surveillance systems).
People with less “privilege” have their own way of reckoning.
Trump is capable of anything to save his own hide, including throwing his "loved ones" under the bus. I can imagine a terrorist attack on US soil, just prior to the election, and engineered by his murderous Saudi friends. Or a strike on Iran which succeeds in inflaming the entire Middle East. Or the jailing of Hillary Clinton on charges of treason. The man is a walking time bomb, as is our country.
1
Regrettably what Frank says is probably true, but thankfully some day the world will be rid of this ugly hateful man. And when that happens, I will pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly and end a period of abstinence that began in the mid-1980s.
When a tyrant dies, an angel gets its wings.
2
Mr. Bruni makes the unstated assumption that President Trump is not in a continuous process of deteriorating to the point that post-White House every viewer, listener, Twitter follower, and reader of any publication that would still quote his statements would conclude that they are all rambling, circular, unintelligible, and meaningless, and then stop paying attention. Excepting those inclined to walk to the edge of the world, take selfies, and fall off.
"“The Trumps will be a dynasty that will last for decades, propelling the Republican Party into a new party."
What a nightmare to think about. This just can't happen if the US is to have what little remains of our democracy.
3
@Jacquie Remember Palin. Neither does anyone else. Remember the tea Party Neither does anyone else.
Trump would be as anonymous as the majority of people if the media had not given him the print, airtime, photo ops, tv interviews etc that propelled him into the public psyche since the 1970s. All it takes to be famous (not necessarily newsworthy) is the image of wealth and the media will abandon all ethics to pay homage to any quirky confabulator who will guild their bylines and increase their revenue. Truth is elusive and rare. We really live in a tale of fiction that can move from fairytale to horror with the click of a keystroke and the imaginative reality of a someone seeking their own infamy.
5
My vision is that like all of us, he will eventually pass away and we will sing “Happy days are here again”. We can never let something like this happen again. We need to update our Constitution to protect Democracy.
5
We will not be rid of Donald Trump until 2024 when he finishes his second term as president. This is a good thing as he has done an outstanding job governing our country. He improved the economy, accomplished job prospects for many, has been fighting against illegal immigration which was out of bounds and improved trade deals with other countries.
He has been for the working man and woman and has done much for our nation. His critics have been many who have not given him any credit for the good he has accomplished. All they have done is criticize and find fault. In spite of this, he has succeeded by leaps and bounds and will continue to make America great. He still has his supporters who think he is great. He will be reelected in 2020 much to the chagrin of the Trump haters.
1
@KMW. 60 percent of voters see it differently.
2
As an added bonus, he's also a meteorologist!
2
@KMW - "he has been for the working man and woman"?! Are you kidding? The only people he has helped is the very rich. If this is what Fox News is feeding you, heaven help us all.
1
Democrats - assuming they win a trifecta in 2020 - should annul his entire presidency. I, for one, cannot live with what he has done to our country, our planet and refugees to the United States. That would mean annulling every Executive Order, Proclamation, regulation, permit, lease, sale, agreement, treaty abrogation and any other presidential action he has been a part of. It would mean restoring the expertise of the federal government and commitment to science. It would mean restoring our public lands and protection of the environment. Every Democratic candidate for President and the Senate needs to be asked to support this. We need to improve on where we were prior to Election Day 2016, not rebuild from the Calvin Coolidge era. I think erasing his legacy, as he has tried to do to President Obama, would go a long way to getting rid of Donald Trump from our consciousness.
9
I believe that if Mr, Trump loses his reelection bid, he starts running for President again the very next day. He'll aim to out-Cleveland Grover Cleveland in 2024. Oh my...
3
We will never be rid of Trump even if he loses in a rout in 2020. As a President, he did not give up his day job of being a celebrity. As an ex-President he still will have his day job - of being a celebrity! I just hope the nuclear codes are changed because who knows the codes maybe sold for a Trump Plaza in Moscow.
4
Bush and Cheney had a disastrous administration. Millions are dead and billions of dollars are gone forever because of them. They vindicated torture and oversaw the creation of mercenary companies like Black Water and paid them hundreds of millions. They ran the country off the cliff economically and morally. And we survived their reign. Every time I think that Trump can't possibly drag us any lower, I remind myself that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It will be an incredibly difficult endeavor to undo all of the harm, but I believe that we will survive.
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What might be the appropriate time for Trump to wait before beginning his campaign for re-election in 2024? He has money, a plane and a security detail.
3
Here is a prediction: The only thing resembling a "Trump Presidential Library" will be his contract with Burger King fanchisees to install "The Official DJT Presidential Reading Corner" It will only have his books ghost-written by others. Children will be discouraged from entering such a dangerous tribute to illiteracy and lies.
Or, perhaps Trump will simply open up his own TrumpBurger burger chain. "Make Cold Burgers Great Again" will be the slogan.
Frank is correct, of course. Attaining the office of POTUS has always been about self-promotion and stuffing his pockets with our tax dollars.
The other thing we know is, Trump never expected to win the race. It was all a reality show of self-promotion, of promoting the Trump brand to future investors (most of whom would be Russian mobsters anyway). He had no intention of giving up life in a gold tower, or flying about in his gold-plated 757 to con his investors. Upon inauguration, he complained about living in the White House and flying in Air Force One.
To compensate for the loss of a lavish life built on corruption, he quickly saw a way to con the US taxpayers using his properties for weekend getaways. He also sees the office he disrespects by the hour, as his new reality show, by sharing the spotlight with the most hideous despots in the world.
Of course he won't admit his brand is fading across the globe. He can't leave to save the brand in fear of an orange jumpsuit in his future.
6
@David Ohman Perhaps a Hamberders and Cofefe joint, with a magazine rack featuring "The National Enquirer" and "Playboy"?
Democrats have gone way left.
Looks like 1972 again to me.
Another four years and the Trump stamp will be virtually eternal, from the courts on down.
3
Once upon a time society had a means of dampening the impact of those they considered harmful to society. It was called 'ostracising'
"verb
verb: ostracise
exclude (someone) from a society or group.
"a group of people who have been ridiculed, ostracized, and persecuted for centuries"
synonyms: exclude, shun, spurn, cold-shoulder, give someone the cold shoulder, reject, repudiate, boycott, blackball, blacklist, cast off, cast out, shut out, avoid, ignore, snub, cut dead, keep at arm's length, leave out in the cold, bar, ban, debar, banish, exile, expel; More
(in ancient Greece) banish (an unpopular or too powerful citizen) from a city for five or ten years by popular vote."
3
Frank, you are distressingly right. Like a bottle of black indelible ink poured into clear water, the stain may eventually be diminished but never completely removed. I fear that ultimately Trump's lies, taunts, instability and abject ignorance will succeed in permanently poisoning the country, and it will take a massive upheaval (a war? revolution? annexation or conquering by an adversary?) to become something different - hopefully better, but not guaranteed.
We have a last best chance to reverse turmpism in every election between now and November, 2020, but passion and persistance (as well as skillful, repeated and memorable messaging) will matter as much as positions. It is no longer time to play nice; this megalomanic must be as thoroughly excised from the public space as possible and as vigorously as possible. As the 12-step folks say, half measures avail us nothing.
3
"We will never, ever be rid of him."
As long as he is incarcerated for the rest of his days I don't care.
When choosing future presidents perhaps we'll know enough not to worry about gaffes, long-ago events, misspeaking, policy tiffs and the like and determine whether a person is or is not evil and whether she or he has the character to be president.
2
He doesn't deserve Doug Mills. At least he'll lose him.
The real damage started decades ago when the Republican party started catering to sketchier and sketchier segments of the voting public - and finally, although he didn't check all the conservative boxes, The Donald became their guy out of necessity.
I see no hope for the future - Trump's 62 million supporters will be there for him - if he's on the ballot, and if he's not, then they'll take any other Republican candidate. They've let this absurd president shape their own already awful opinions and have morphed into nonsensical zealots. But no one switches sides anymore so if it's not Trump in 2020, it will be some other Republican candidate obligated to pay attention to those former Trump supporters. So on and on it goes.
Meanwhile, by focussing on progressive agendas, the Dems are only solidifying Trump's base making it unlikely they will regain the White House anytime soon. They don't have to worry about Democratic voters switching sides - so why obsess over liberal policies right now - first win back the Presidency and then move forward with how to make the country safer, more prosperous, more fair. But they won't. A perfect storm.
3
Let me be the first to predict this: Russia will interfere with our election again, but this time they will support the democratic candidate. A few days or weeks after Trump loses the election, the Russians, obviously via a third party, will release a mountain of evidence of voter fraud and election interference that helped the democratic candidate win. Trump will then refuse to leave the White House. He will have support of the banana republic cabinet he now has in place and a good portion of the country, as well as Fox News. And the country will fall into total chaos. Putin is a smart guy. No doubt he is working on this right now.
3
Well, not until 2024 anyway. Trump is certainly no bargain, no argument, but neither are any of the Democratic contenders, each of whom is trying to "out liberal" the others. This may appeal to the urban liberal populations clustered around big cities but probably not so much to the rest of the country. Almost nobody I know favors open borders (our grandparents and great-grandparents immigrated legally), reparations (okay if paid to any individuals still living who actually were slaves), having the taxpayers assume student debt (you should have gone to a low cost public university if you couldn't afford a private one), Medicare for all (I like my private insurance, thanks), etc. Since most voters vote for the lesser of the two evils these days, I predict that Trump will win in 2020, especially given the Electoral College which isn't going away anytime soon. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.
4
@Mike F. - You are the bearer of nothing but a very tired set of exaggerated and misinformed FOX talking points.
There are plenty of liberal people who do not live in "big cities." The blue collar districts of the midwest are very much in play for both parties. Nothing in suburban or grittier industrial PA, WI, MI, or OH is electorally certain. Ditto for NC, FL, and NH.
Non of the D candidates support "open borders." This is a Frank Luntz-ism being parroted by Hannity and company to incite maximum hysteria. It is not a real thing.
We already pay compensation in some form (tax breaks, college tuition assistance, etc.) to specific individuals who can *document* a state-sponsored harm. See: Native American treaty violations, Japanese internment, unwitting subjects of medical experimentation, etc. Nobody is advocating a free-for-all; there would be a legal process for seeking damages.
The debt-burdened students that you are lecturing are themselves taxpayers. And they will contribute more as debt-free (or less debt-burdened) workers who are now able to buy homes, start families and businesses, etc. A debt forgiveness program can (and should) involve a period of public service, or a period of bankruptcy reorganization, or both. Again, not a free-for-all, but rather a negotiated settlement that will ultimately benefit all parties.
It's nice that you have and like private insurance, but millions of your neighbors have no access to healthcare at all. This has to change.
1
There is a faint hope that we might be rid of him:
- Indictment, conviction and incarceration
- Dementia
I would love to see the first, but would also be very happy seeing him lose it completely on national television.
7
The country has a lot of work to do in addressing the needs of the ever bleating Trump voters. There's a reason they see him as the Second Coming. All of us need to try reaching out to them in our daily lives to promote our own healing and respect for those unlike ourselves. I know it sounds like Pollyanna but I, for one, would like to try.
I think it is obvious that Trump will be re-elected as long as the Democrats are pushing open borders, race wars, and this deathly political correctness on everyone in public, while in private they are as corrupt and money hungry as the Republicans.
Let’s not forget that the wage stagnation and outsourcing of jobs and manufacturing happened mostly under their watch. Even the Recession happened under 2 D senators, in a D state, because they closed their eyes in return for big fees from WS speeches, WS donations, and other perks.
Bernie missed his train and is now too old. Warren is GREAT but she has a small voice and she will NOT be able to run big rallies like Trump. I hate to say it, but Ivanka Trump is a much better public speaker than Warren and she has bigger chances to be elected as the first woman president, although on substance Warren is of course much better. (The good news is that Ivanka is a actually a Democrat). The other Dems are a bunch of opportunists, save Yang and the Tulsi who are still green and undesired by the D establishment.
-- I predicted Trump's election the minute he ran and the media attacked him for his escalator remarks -- which I found refreshing and common-sensical. The guy has an ardent following and MANY people who hide their allegiance because of the Dems backlash will vote for them.
Before I predicted his win, I was a D and ever liked the guy. But I was able to remove wishful thinking from my reasoning.
3
@Alexgri ...I meant I never liked the guy or watched his shows.
It's time to be honest.
We are all outdated in our understanding of what clicks out there in the world.
Times change, values change.
What was outrageous and obnoxious behaviour in the movies in the time of Richard Burton was acceptable and best-selling in the time of Clint Eastwood.
You get the idea.
Each generation has this idea of a golden era which is no more and yet the idea of that golden era continues to exist in the minds of that generation and that affects and distorts the understanding of that generation as to the validity and durability of what we perceive as ephemeral and an aberration.
Frank Bruni has been around since 1995 and my kids tell me that the movies and the music and the stars of that 'era' are outdated and ancient, and figure among the 'classics' in some cases.
Same with the politics and etiquette.
We may well be rid of Trump and his family but the culture that he stands for, may just be the present and future political culture and a break from the past.
5
This country doesn't deserve to be rid of Donald Trump. From the apathetic segment of voters who can't be bothered to cast a ballot, to the left-wing purists who wouldn't rally around the chosen candidate in the face of such disaster, to the 30-some percent who thought voting in a dysfunctional, cruel, and ignorant dictator was going to further entertain them, we got what we deserved. At the very least, Trump being in our face will remind us that there is much to be done to insure this travesty never happens again.
That said, he's not going to be around forever and we don't have to give him attention after he leaves office. The media doesn't have to broadcast his tweets--they are only seen by a fraction of the populace anyway--and we don't have to respond to him. We'll have more than enough to do cleaning up the mess he made.
13
This is one of the best arguments I have heard so far for locking the lot of them up for the multiplicity of crimes they have committed. In prison they wouldn’t be able to get their hands on their cell phones. So for a few years the country would get a rest from their flaming tweets!
2
This Opinion by Bruni comes in the wake of the September 11th, horror and tragedy. It's unseemly to think that Trump will be frozen in our minds as this mournful day continues to be. Does the ugly omnipresence of Trump so haunt some people that they cannot imagine life without him? It is unfortunate that Bruni cannot envision the rule law catching up with Trump. Does he think that the big con can go on and on? Yes, this devilry has lasted though Trump's adult life, but as his crimes and cruelty grow so does the antipathy of a majority of Americans and of our Allies. It is very serious that Trump has such a large number of supporters and that our country has very deep and difficult problems to solve. This doesn't mean that Trump's megaphone remains at such a high decibel. The odds, I think, are more in favor of crushing Trump, his 'dynasty' and the Republican Party than Trump's voice and deeds continuing to despoil our spirit and our land. As we mourn the 9/11 victims, let us also work decisively for the principles that our country was founded upon.
4
Mr. Bruni,
I like you, so I want to offer a bit of free advice: you can free yourself from Trump or any psychopath.
You can use a very effective technique called Grey-Rocking, look it up.
Plus we have a justice system to keep dangerous individuals off the streets. Don’t lose faith in it, support it; cynicism is cheap and gives them a free win.
Channel your worry energy into helping our society to make progress, you’ll feel so much better, immediately. Help a neighbor register to vote, give $10 to Amy McGrath, take a dog for a walk...
Eat well, enjoy some exercise and nature, talk to your loved ones.
I survived and thrived after a devastating encounter with a psychopath, by doing all of the above. I dearly wish I hadn’t had to learn how to deal with evil people, but there you go, there are a lot of them in the world.
I have come to believe that, as a society, one of our biggest unresolved issues is how to prevent these people from doing their damage. We don’t have all the answers yet, but we have learned that not paying attention or clinging to denialism or caving in, don’t work. So there’s that to start with.
Please keep up your strength so you can continue to contribute your good work.
5
God that was depressing. Probably true, which makes it all the more depressing.
7
Assuming DT is defeated in 2020, this will be the most bizarre transition of administrations in the history of our country, making his incoming 2016 transition look like a walk in the park. Out of pure spite, he will insist that he somehow actually won, will absolutely refuse to cooperate with the incoming transition team, and will, guaranteed, not greet his successor on inauguration day nor attend the ceremony. If anything, he will probably stay in the Oval Office to the last possible minute, even to the point of the Secret Service having to tell that he has to leave, because he is petty and vindictive beyond belief. That said, the press should then stop covering him. Let him continue to tweet away, but we don’t need his garbage to further resonate in the news echo chamber, and let the GOP find some other spokesman for their brand. It will now be time for enough, already, and let him slip into irrelevance.
4
@IrishRebel98
Totally agree! No more publicity after he is out of office. I actually wonder if he will go to the inauguration of a new president, god willing that happens.
One possible (hopefully probable) result of his losing the upcoming election is that he will not tweet, speak, rant, or run a media conglomerate. He will be spending time without a phone or mouthpiece, because he will be in a state prison, likely in NY.
His many illegal activities including the Stormy Daniels payoffs, tax evasion, and more, should result in convictions on the State level. I’m anticipating that he will somehow arrange (self-pardon?) pardons for Federal crimes. Maybe it’s a far fetched dream, but this malevolent, destructive, and immoral person should rightfully be in the slammer. This is not a “lock him up” chant. This is justice served.
7
we beseech.
we must impeach.
House hearings will alert the voting public
to His Messyness.
The Senate will be forced to convict him
because the Public outburst that will occur after
exposure to House Hearings shown on TV.
Sooner rather than later.
Get his hand off the wheel.
1
Talk about putting Trump in prison after he’s no longer President is just talk. Bush and Cheney were never held to account as war criminals. They were worse than Trump; they got us into two permanent wars. So far Trump has avoided this path: exit Bolton. If we didn’t prosecute George we won’t prosecute Donald.
4
Fantastic last line, Mr. Bruni. If only our collective memory of Trump could be erased "snappily ever after."
When I saw the headline for this piece I anticipated that it was not actually going to be about Trump the person, but about the divisions and animosities that Trump has amplified among the people of our country.
Listen to Trump regale his supporters at his rallies, see his supporters respond with such enthusiasm. The foundational callings of Trumpism are largely based on fear of others, hate of others, fear of change.
The Trumpist platform: The free press is the enemy of the people; our own intelligence services are not to be trusted; our allies are not to be trusted and strong-arm leaders are the protectors of their people; caring for our environment will kill our economy; most immigrants are coming to our country to sap our resources, take our jobs, and/or kill us; Democrats hate Jews and want to take away all of our freedoms (including our light bulbs, hamburgers and pick up trucks); Trumpists can rant about the short-comings of our country, and express concern about our future, but if anyone else does, they "hate America." This is the elevated drum beat of Trumpism that is not likely to go away any time soon.
5
Twenty democratic candidates, have weakened the chance of the party to be able to stand up against Trump. Every candidate is facing a boorish, combative, unprincipled lyer in Trump, who can literally crush his opponents, with 60 million committed followers and a pusillanimous GOP cheering him on.
1
All the more reasons Impeachmnet is Imperative. Congress must create an official record of this President's illegitimacy and abuses of power. As exPresident, Trump can file all the lawsuits that suit him, but again, he is bankrupt.
The rest of the country must move on with healing and restoring Constitutional processes, civil rights and respect for one another.
2
The only problem is that the current leftward path by the Democrats is practically rolling out the red (or gold) carpet for Trump to win again.
Just remember, Saint McGovern was going to take out Nixon.
4
@David G
There are at least 5 or more Dem candidates who are Moderates. Have you been listening to any of them? Or are you really looking for a moderate Republican to oppose Trump?
You might try Klobuchar, Buttigieg or Micahel Bennet's interviews which are all over the internet.
1
Trump is nothing but a blemish on the face of a much uglier problem. We will never be rid of him as long as we continue to tolerate the ignorance, hate, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism and materialism that is now apparently very common in this country.
Trump would never exist, but for all of that.
7
Lock him up. Without the "immunity" of the presidency (who knew!) he remains guilty of obstruction of justice, campaign finance laws and corruption. And that's just while in office. Follow up on the information from Michael Cohen, the fraud of the Trump Foundation and the dirty dealings of Trump Inc. and maybe he could get 300 years with no tweet access. As a bonus, maybe roll in the dealings of the rest of his family and they could all go away for a long time. Wouldn't it be lovely.
2
I'm hoping that the International Court of Justice in the Hague will choose to do what our own government is unwilling to do. Indict and try him and his band of thieves for Crimes Against Humanity. Do it in absentia, but do it!
1
How sad to be constantly obsessing about Trump. He's done some good things (the effort to really control illegal immigration, the tax cut, the Supreme Court justices, and making an effort to get back into a competitive posture with China) and he's done some bad things (the pettiness is a primary sin). But, on balance, he's done ok. And that very mundaneness drives the Left nuts, every day and, it seems, every moment.
4
Let me repeat Pres. Donald Trump is a dangerous man in charge of the most powerful office in the land I cannot believe we elected them in 2016. He didn't win the popular vote but he won the electoral votes states that shouldn't have the right to vote and should be eliminated and combined to other states because of this situation wherein now.
I have said before he's not a dealmaker but a breaker a liar and a thief Pres. Donald Trump after losing 2020 should go straight to jail with Paul Manafort and maybe they can paid cards and talk about old times how they stole from people.
2
Trump isn't the only perpetrator. His biggest accomplice is Mitch McConnell. We must hold him accountable as well.
6
Of all the people in the news during the Trump administration, Jeffery Epstein bears the closest resemblance to Trump.
Without an attorney general to protect him and without ambiguous laws about charging sitting presidents with crimes, Donald Trump will meet his destiny just like Epstein met his.
2
All the more reason to indict him the moment our new president is sworn in. His reach will be limited, housed in an orange jumpsuit in some medium security prison in the boondocks. No doubt he'll enjoy the crummy food, but after a while the whole thing will be pretty boring and the press will have no need to cover it. A fantasy?
2
I, for one, will not read any news/opinion article that focuses on Trump after he leaves the White House (unless it is about him being force to wear an orange jump suit and manacles, or the like). I won’t care that he will spout off about things he doesn’t know anything about. He will have damaged the country enough with his actions before and as president to be considered persona non grata by me. I would be even fine with denying Secret Service protection for him after he finishes his term in office and becomes a “regular” citizen. Supposedly, he is wealthy enough to provide his own security and save us taxpayers the cost.
4
If the media would ignore him, it would help a lot to get through that interval until he dies. Now he has all the attention he wants just by drawing breath. Once he’s out of office, he’ll be desperate to maintain the same level of attention. He’ll be on Fox, he’ll tweet 24/7, he’ll hold rallies and charge for them. His rants will get uglier because there will be no constraints on him.
If the Democrats take the White House, it will be a much blander news environment. Normal will be boring. Can you deal with that? I bet not. But if you don’t dial back the all the bandwidth you give him to an appropriate level, you’re not serving the public. If you continue keep him in the forefront, you are not serving the public, here and around the world. And to hamper the next president, whoever that may be, or whatever party, with the spectre of trump, you’re not serving the country, you’re shilling for clcks.
@Gabrielle Rose
I would embrace boring wholeheartedly.
Well, maybe we shouldn't be. He is the monster from our id. That ugliness lurks in many of our souls, and we need to be mindful of that.
2
The gift that keeps on giving. But having him out of the presidency will be worth somethin. At least his hand will be removed from the Button. At least he won't be hiring advisors in the White House. At least he will not have the Power of the President to shield him from prosecution. But I wonder, can he as president issued pardons in advance for himself for any subsequent criminal trials?
2
I have an idea. How about the media not cover Trumps' nonsense after he leaves the White House? Who will be forcing the media to publicize Trump's antics then?
1
Were I elected President in 2020, here are the first two Executive Orders I would enact, and I would hand them over immediately following the inauguration.
1 - Trump and all his kin are no longer to received national security briefings; he doesn't pay any attention to them anyway, so why give him fodder, and Jared and the rest have no business getting those briefings now.
2 - Any Federal employee who holds or meets anyone having business with the Federal government will immediately be fired if that meeting takes place in a Trump-owned/managed property. His family has suckled off the government teat enough.
3
He may be "tweeting, bleating, ranting and raging" as you so well put it. But it's time for the press to ignore him. Just don't react. Don't print it, don't comment on it, don't mention it. Don't give it any air time. We'd all be so much better off.
2
There is a way to get rid of Trumpism, assuming he doesn't get re-elected. Stop following him on social media. MSM should ignore him completely. Why would any reputable journalist pay attention to a pathological liar? Deprive the ego maniac of attention he craves to survive.
2
The Trump Presidency has shown the country two important things: 1) How lucky we have been especially in the last 100 years to have had presidents occupying the White House who had at least a modicum of integrity and honor; and
2) How toothless the safety provisions written into the Constitution are that were put into place by the Founding Fathers to offset and head off the type of president that Donald Trump embodies.
I know the solution to Number One - vote the bum out of office, but for Number Two, well, that's a thornier problem to solve. More amendments perhaps? More laws? We can toss out the Emoluments Clause as a start. A close second would be to curtail presidential power to pardon.
My one prayer to the media outlets: Once this despicable man is no longer in power please do all you can to ensure his time remaining on the planet is relegated to the dustbin of history. Translation: If he Tweets, and we know he will, please do not cover it.
They didn't matter to me when he was president and they will have even less value once he is not.
4
He needs to go to jail. Anything less would not only condone but also reward laziness, lack of transparency, idiocy, bigotry, lack of empathy, mendacity, malfeasance, corruption and shamelessness in the most powerful person in the world.
It would also reinforce the notion that a lack of character and qualifications is acceptable to members of Congress so long as the president is one of your tribe who you promise to keep in power and away from the long arm of the law as long as he pushes your unpopular agenda.
2
I have said many times, if Trump loses in 2020 (please God) it will be necessary to send in the Marines to evict him from office. November will turn into December and he will be yapping away about corruption, filing lawsuits, and traveling around the country on Air Force One to rally his supporters. Who will give the order to the Marines? Pompeo? Pence?
I fear if he loses in 2020, he'll run again in 2024, claiming in all of his martyrdom that his defeat in the 2020 election was "suspect, fraudulent, the result of a media crusade against him and the fruit of illegal votes" etc. But I still hope he loses in 2020! And then I look forward to his perp walk in 2021.
Beyond agreeing with the article and comments, I myself have been wondering just what he will include in his presidential ‘library’ and will anyone ever visit it?
Even after surviving an attempted assassination, George Wallace spewed his vile, racist rhetoric into the world at large. In reality his receptive audience never grew into the movement that I am confident he had fantasized in his time of public prominence. After passing from this life into eternity, his memory remained fresh only in the minds of true believers—those who unfortunately persist even in our supposedly more refined body politic. But, the Wallace media phenomenon did die with him.
This is the same fate I expect for Trump’s 21st century villainy. He can continue to inject bile and venom into our discourse after he is removed from office, but if his audience withers to the anemic ranks of his ‘base’, then he will become like the tree falling in a metaphoric forest. It will not make a sound any sane human can hear. One can only hope this becomes our reality after November 3, 2020. Democrats, please make it so!
2
The Southern District of New York, among others, will ensure trump stays in the news. First for the indictments, second for the trials, third for the convictions, fourth for the sentencing, lastly for the incarceration.
1
Hopefully Father Time/The Grim Reaper will eventually put an stop to endless, and senseless tweeting, no matter what happens in 2020. No one will ever be able to take up this mantle of stupidity, hate and evil quite to the degree this evil one has accomplished. He is indeed a special person.
1
Beware, a third term is on the horizon
If he looses in November of 2020, he'll be broadcasting from "Trump Network", otherwise known as JAIL.
1
He (Trump) is on TV right now claiming that he saw the 2nd plane hit the WTC and also claiming that he went to ground zero to help right after. He is such a big liar, he is despicable. There are no sufficient words to describe the pettiness, foolishness, mendacity, callousness, neediness, soullessness of this man.
What can we do to rid him of our national consciousness?
Vote him out for sure.
He needs to be impeached.
We need to ignore him and disregard anything he says, because nothing he says is true.
1
The Atlantic article was brilliant, in a horrifying way.
The photograph appended to this article indicates that Trump finds great joy in destroying the constitutional fabric of this nation. So sickening.
I don't want the martyrdom of Impeachment as a call to arms for his low info voters. I want him to be imprisoned for traitorous behavior. Whether that happens before or after 2020 is unimportant. I also want to hear all the mealy mouthed excuses GOP politicians will make. It should be great theatre. "Well, I had no idea................"
Because we will never, ever be rid of the minority of people who relish the narrow mindset and worldview he offers.
Yet another reason for serious jail time.
The United States of Trump - he has branded our country and we will never get out from under.
Perhaps it's a 50-50 deal as to the Trump dynasty and nations-wide Kardashian-like binge-watching-reality-show being a lasting thing.
Will America's white nationalism, our racist rage, our right-wing anti-abortionism, our Puritan purity, and our greed capitalism's dumping on the poor keep Trumpism in fashion? Or -- will we tire of the pit-bull-and parolee-like reruns, the combover bluster, the flagrant flounce, and the tedium of power past-tense?
One way or the other -- I have a deep fear of taking an official vote on the outcome, given history.
Personally, I’m afraid if Trump does not win reelection, he will start a nuclear war and kill us all. However, I will still vote Dem.
Dear Americans: I know it is hard for you to accept the fact that Donald Trump is in your blood. It is not possible to expunge something that is integral to your national character.
From White House to Rikers Island is the best scenario for banishing the trumpeting one from our nightmare.
Americans have a way to block out bad guys from memory.
1
We'll never be rid of him because a large proportion of white men (and women) are near carbon copies of him: under-educated, racist, privileged, sexist, xenophobic, entitled, chauvinists. Oh, and don't forget white. Our "body politic" is filled people just like Trump. Until that changes, he'll always have an audience.
4
We need the following Constitutional Amendment:
Article 1: The person Donald J. Trump is hereby exiled from all States or Territories of the United States of America; and all of his personal property or assets, wherever they may be or be found to be in the future, are forfeit to the United States.
Article 2: The Office of President of the United States is hereby declared to have been vacant from January 20, 2019 until January 21, 2021.
Well "just without the nuclear codes" and the platform of the presidency is good enough for me. Even better would be in an orange jumpsuit behind bars.