Bankruptcy would be nice, but he’s not foolish enough to risk his own money. If he does the media empire thing, he’ll rely on outside investors.
I think those who are thinking that he will be in prison or destitute are deluding themselves. Even if he deserves it, prosecuting an ex-president with a large political following is hard to do without looking like its politically motivated and sparking civil unrest. At the very worst he will be sentenced to a few years of house arrest, and probably be out by 2024. As far as his finances go he will probably find a way to consolidate his debts into a number of properties that he will foreclose via bankruptcy while shielding a portion of his assets. His real estate empire will dramatically shrink but he’ll still be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.
Meanwhile he is going to capitalize on his role of poltical gadfly. We may all be tired of the Trump theater, but his followers are addicted. His rallies weren’t so much about the politics as about identity and the ability to hang out with like minded folk. I suspect he will continue to hold rallies as president in exile, and attract a group of Trumpheads who will follow him from rally to rally.
As things stand, I think that if he is healthy enough he will run in 2024, and give him about even odds of winning the nomination, and failing that will run as a third party (after taking an oath not to do so). But a lot can change in 4 years and who knows what the future will bring.
But by prosecuting him, we can force him to spend down his fortune on lawyers. Ideally, he ends up both destitute and in prison. FYI, the feature story in The New York Times Magazine (paywall warning) is about whether he can be prosecuted and if he’s not, what that says about the rule of law in this country.
It says that well connected rich white guys can get away with pretty much anything they want. In other words, it says nothing we didn’t already know.
Just giving this thread the customary single bump.
Hey, I got this right, sorta. Some, among many more.
I also said in another thread that Trump’s pose after the assassination attempt was worth 10 points in the polls.
Otherwise… not so good.
Fair enough. I was wrong.
You missed the money shot with me. My prediction which you quoted turned out to be correct; that was the one where I predicted Trump would run again because he would miss all the attention he got while being President.
The prediction I got wrong was the one you didn’t quote; that was the one where I said he wouldn’t get nominated. And I will concede that meant I was also predicting he wouldn’t win the election.
What can I say? Trump voters are stupider than I gave them credit for.
I worded that tentatively, so I could say I wasn’t totally wrong. But I was wrong not only in the year of the pass off to the next generation, but also, probably, on the favored relative.
I miss Panache45. Does/did anyone here know him IRL, and what happened to him?
This held up pretty well. (Not so much a couple of other sentences I posted, though.)
this was remarkably prescient.
Except for the “healthy enough”. I suspect that he is not.
And to be honest, he seems to get a pass on proving his health that other candidates and presidents do not.