Actually, after self-preservation (which he has already effectively achieved; Jack Smith’s investigation is being wound down and the Supreme Court has made him effectively untouchable from criminal or other legal sanction) I think Trump’s first priority is going to be vengeance even above wealth. He just can’t stop obsessing about all of the people who have wronged him—even if just by word or have incidentally slighted him by not bending to his will—and without any real constraints other than institutional reluctance in the DoJ he is free to send the entire executive authority of various agencies after whomever he wants to hurt most. This is sickening and absolutely a hallmark of fascism, but I have to admit a perverse anticipation of the day Trump and Elon Musk come to loggerheads because those are two narcissist that cannot share a spotlight, and as much as Elon has stumped for Trump up to this point he’s going to find that this won’t actually give him any special privilege when it comes to doing things Trump doesn’t like or care about. I predict an epic meltdown and an attempt at deportation or imprisonment for Musk is in the cards.
Trump doesn’t have any real ideology but he does have grievance, and that drives most of what stands in for ‘policy’ coming from him. He’s especially aggrieved at immigrants and particularly Muslims for no reason in particular, but he’s more or less an equal opportunity hater of everybody who he doesn’t consider a real American even if they’ve had roots here for generations. Even in that, he doesn’t have any particular philosophy to his racism; it’s just a gut reaction about what he doesn’t like. He’s like a child who won’t eat his vegetables bawling and throwing food across the table. But that also makes him super-easy to distract and manipulate by anyone in his inner circle clever enough to not respond to his provocations and wait out the temper tantrums, and now there are naked fascists in that coven that are smarter than Stephen Miller.
Not worth the SAN loss, and aligning yourself with such hideous entities, even in the service of restraining others, is not worth the social credit and corruption losses.
Stranger