# A thought I had about Trump’s leash in a potential second term **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 20, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-i-had-about-trump-s-leash-in-a-potential-second-term/918567 "2020-08-20T09:01:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-i-had-about-trump-s-leash-in-a-potential-second-term/918567/21 "2020-08-21T00:46:05Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > Trump will still have his … Twitter account. > > That’s arguable. At the moment, Twitter refuses to ban Trump’s account (despite otherwise violating their terms of service), saying that his tweets are newsworthy. That is, they hold him to a different standard because he’s the POTUS. Take that away, and their argument also goes away. > > He’ll still have some platform or other, but be increasingly marginalized. When’s the last time anyone saw anything from Alex Jones? My full quote was: “There will always be another election to worry about, and Trump will still have his megaphone and his Twitter account.” I was referring to Trump in a potential second term as President as referenced in the OP and the title of the thread. (Or even, God forbid, a third or fourth term if things were to seriously go off the rails.) 😱 The “megaphone” I was referring to is the bully pulpit of the Presidency. I couldn’t care less about Trump after he leaves office. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-i-had-about-trump-s-leash-in-a-potential-second-term/918567/22 "2020-08-21T00:57:18Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I think there’s a better than even chance that Trump would actually have a much tougher time of it during a second term. It depends on many factors, but the two I would put first are: – How did he win? If by more or less the same way he beat Hillary, then he might tend to be treated as a lame duck. But if he won by a few state GOP legislatures changing the rules after election day, then he will seem too masterful to be treated as a second-termer. – What is happening to the Justice Department and the federal courts? Are they deferring to the President? I can;t forget that [Trump talks like an elected, first term, non-fascist, dictator](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/politics/donald-trump-third-term-2024/index.html). That type uses their second term to consolidate power. If I’m wrong – if Trump is a fool unable to complete what he started – they are going to have to start calling the U.S. the lucky country (now [it’s Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucky_Country#:~:text=Australia%20is%20a%20lucky%20country,people%20who%20share%20its%20luck.&text=Rather%2C%20Australia's%20economic%20prosperity%20was,any%20other%20prosperous%20industrial%20society.%22) – can we both be lucky?)… , ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-i-had-about-trump-s-leash-in-a-potential-second-term/918567/23 "2020-08-21T00:59:47Z")
You can’t base an argument on a false premise. Trump is not on his best behavior now. His behavior is worse now than it has ever been. It’s been getting progressively worse as the COVID nightmare exposes his shortcomings and the Democrats start looking better and better. Your other false premise is that McConnell would have power. There’s a certain glee in trying to envision Trump being re-elected with a Democratic-controlled Congress. But that certainly would not induce Fox or other Republicans to bypass Trump. They would stand behind him with even more fervor. Especially during the inevitable impeachment trial. The result would conceivably destroy the country. What would his supporters get from a dictatorship? Everything. You cannot have Trump and a democracy at the same time if he is re-elected. That outcome is wish-fulfillment fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-i-had-about-trump-s-leash-in-a-potential-second-term/918567/24 "2020-08-21T01:02:18Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I was referring to Trump in a potential second term as President as referenced in the OP and the title of the thread. Sorry, I thought you were including a post or lost second term in that statement (“always”). Fair enough. I can only hope that a few of his usual haunts get shut down once he’s out of office. I wouldn’t say that I couldn’t care less about that time. He can still cause an immense amount of damage (as he did before he took office). ---
**Author:** ![ahduval](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahduval/32/11513_2.png) [@ahduval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ahduval)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-i-had-about-trump-s-leash-in-a-potential-second-term/918567/25 "2020-08-24T18:04:00Z")
I apologize for not being as clever as other posters, but seeing how trump funnels money to himself and his businesses, I am also concerned about the following: [Trump’s loans](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/donald-trump-loans-deutsche-bank/) We know what he will do for a “few” bucks, what will he do when he is personally on the hook for paying a half billion dollars. I think he will eclipse all his previous efforts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-i-had-about-trump-s-leash-in-a-potential-second-term/918567.md?page=1)