# Trump could scorch the GOP on the way out **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879 "2020-11-06T03:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/21 "2020-11-06T21:25:25Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > Most likely Trump will go tweeting into the sunset and will try to be an _eminence grise_ , **the power behind the scenes.** - That seems to be entirely out of character. ---
**Author:** ![scarbrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@scarbrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scarbrow)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/22 "2020-11-06T21:42:42Z")
I think it’s more likely Trump’s failure becomes an opportunity for another candidate to push the same policies with just a veneer of being more reasonable and alienating fewer people. If Trump had not criticized American companies like Goodyear, for example, he would have kept more voters on his side. I’m hoping this imaginary candidate does not exist, but I fear he might. EDIT: Fixed minor grammar errors. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/23 "2020-11-07T00:52:38Z")
> [@scarbrow](#): > > I’m hoping this imaginary candidate does not exist, but I fear he might. A well founded fear. Trump if anything may have been the one who tested the edge of the envelope and shredded it while _that_ candidate was unwilling to risk immolation. Now he can come and just stop reasonably short of where Trump went and look good. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/24 "2020-11-07T01:20:34Z")
I just watched 15 minutes of Tucker Carlson and it looks like he believes that he might be the man to pick up the banner and run with it. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/25 "2020-11-07T01:31:27Z")
Snrk. Well, we just need to get Jon Stewart back to banish Tucker to the cornfield [like he did back in 2004.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop) ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/26 "2020-11-07T01:40:48Z")
I disagree. The amount of people that Trump has brought into to his Cult of Personality will try to be harnessed by multiple ‘22 &’ 24 candidates. Ted Cruz has already started by going into the bizarro world of voter fraud allegations. I’d imagine that DeSantis will also try to capture the same. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/27 "2020-11-07T02:56:54Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > @Gatopescado you are a poet. I thought it was a Shakespeare quote. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/28 "2020-11-07T02:59:49Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Republicans are criticizing Trump for his claims of election fraud, some of them in harsh terms. One thing to remember is that what Trump is attacking is more than the Democratic Party, he’s attacking the states themselves in his rhetoric. Republican members of Congress who represent those states can’t afford to support his claims or even stay silent, not if they want to get re-elected. Even more significantly, they don’t want their own elections in this cycle to be tossed in the trash if Trump gets the ballots thrown out. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/29 "2020-11-07T03:55:08Z")
The nighttime opinion biggies at Fox have gotten the ball rolling for another Trump run in '24. If he’s not bogged down in litigation, the man is liable to go on four years of rallies beginning in February. The loyalty and devotion he commanded from 70 million voters this week really shook me. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/30 "2020-11-07T04:05:30Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Even more significantly, they don’t want their own elections in this cycle to be tossed in the trash if Trump gets the ballots thrown out. Great point. Republicans are doing relatively well in the smaller races but he’s not, and all that matters is Trump, so to hell with them, he doesn’t feel he owes the party anything. How poetic would it be if he demands a recount in a state and still doesn’t win after, but the Republicans lose a seat? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/31 "2020-11-07T04:41:13Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That seems to be entirely out of character. Yep. Assuming he does retain the presidency (I’m not ready to count chickens yet),I see him scheduling the first rally for the Trump 2024 campaign happening as counterprogramming to the inauguration in January. And this time, he can have all the rallies he wants - unfettered by having to do something president-y from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/32 "2020-11-07T07:45:18Z")
Who pays for all the rallies Trump has been having? And who will pay for all the rallies he will have for the next four years? And will he have a harder time finding venues willing to host his rallies? Will they demand cash up front including exorbitant security deposits? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/33 "2020-11-07T08:02:13Z")
I cannot answer your first question, but I might offer a suggestion as to your second: Trump himself, and his family, and his “foundations,” or whatever money he’s got stashed away. Of course, he’ll probably stiff his venues etc., unless they demand deposits up front. Naturally, he’s not an official 2024 candidate unless he files the paperwork and pays the fees, but then he can hold as many re-election rallies as he wants. But unless he’s willing to run as an independent, he has no assurances in January 2021 that he will be the Republican choice for President in 2024. He might be defeated in the primaries–and a lot of Republicans are starting to turn on him. No telling how they will feel in 2023. He might keep his base, who will enthusiastically attend his post-presidency rallies at first, but in the end, without him as president, they’re just … rallies with no purpose. His rally-going base will realize that Trump rallies are just circus acts, that keep the rubes entertained, but don’t accomplish much, without the assurance of an end goal. As such, I can see the crowds at them diminish over the next few years, as his base realizes that they’re the rats, and the Trump ship is sinking. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/34 "2020-11-07T13:04:52Z")
If he gets convicted of a felony can he even run again? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/35 "2020-11-07T14:02:29Z")
I don’t recall anything in the constitution about felonies disqualifying for any office. That being said, he’s a fat old man in poor physical condition with early stages of dementia. I’m not worried that he’ll be back in 2024. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/36 "2020-11-07T14:47:53Z")
Heck, Eugene Debs ran for president while imprisoned for a conviction under the Sedition Act: > **[1920 United States presidential election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_United_States_presidential_election)** > > Woodrow Wilson > Democratic > Warren G. Harding > Republican > The 1920 United States presidential election was the 34th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1920. In the first election held after the end of the First World War and the first election after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment (which gave equal votes to men and women), Republican Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio defeated Democratic Governor James M. Cox of Ohio. It was one of only six presidential e... > [@](#): > > Cox won just 34.1% of the popular vote, and [Socialist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Party_of_America) [Eugene V. Debs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_V._Debs) won 3.4%, despite being in prison at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/37 "2020-11-07T14:51:48Z")
What happens if someone runs for President and wins while in prison? Does the sentence get commuted? Are they allowed to leave prison? ---
**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:** [November 7, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/38 "2020-11-07T15:02:51Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Republicans are doing relatively well in the smaller races but he’s not, and all that matters is Trump, so to hell with them, he doesn’t feel he owes the party anything. > > How poetic would it be if he demands a recount in a state and still doesn’t win after, but the Republicans lose a seat? I can’t find a cite, but I’m pretty sure that recounts are specific to a particular contest. In other words, if a recount is ordered for the presidential contest, those are the only votes they are looking at. Now if in the course of recounting the presidential votes they come across a big anomaly, they might trigger a recount in the other races as well, but that’s probably unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/39 "2020-11-07T15:24:57Z")
True for recounts, but what about attempts to stop the counting, or to exclude certain ballots all together because of alleged irregularities? That would affect all the races on those ballots, wouldn’t it? ---
**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:** [November 7, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879/40 "2020-11-07T20:20:31Z")
Yes, I would think so. I was focusing only on recounts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-could-scorch-the-gop-on-the-way-out/924879.md?page=3)