Trump, Lame Duck Edition

[Sage_Rat]

I just saw a headline, something like “McConnell says not to expect the stimulus deal before the election”, and it made me consider where things go after Trump is elected out (presuming that he is) but still has several months to serve.

At the moment, for example, Trump wants to pass the stimulus because he needs the votes.

But, after a loss, we have to ask ourselves how good of a loser Donald Trump is and whether he has a history of retribution against those who scorned him?

Given three months of freedom, where he doesn’t have to give a damn about his polling and still wields the power of the presidency, what does Donald do? Does the cabinet act to swap Pence in?

[LSLGuy]

Older threads on-point.

From Jan 2020 in P&E:

How much of a problem is a post-President (or lame duck) Trump?

At some point, Donald Trump will no longer be President. Aside from the case where he might die in office, that means that we will have Former President Trump doing whatever he’s going to do. It seems to me he could cause a lot of trouble for the next administration, particularly a Democratic administration, and on a number of fronts. Let’s start with the “cleanest” case - that of removal from office by the Senate. As unlikely as this seems, it is a possibility. The upside (to my mind) of this …

From Jul 2020 in P&E:

Trump Loses In November - Then This Happens

Sit down, buckle in, bring your seat up to its full upright position, with your tray table closed and locked. Now tightly squeeze your sphincter muscles and seriously consider this. Really! Donald trump is defeated at the polls on November 3, 2020. He becomes a lame duck president until the new president is sworn in on January 20, 2021. In the ensuing 79 days, from his defeat to the inauguration: Trump lays waste to the federal government infrastructure, issuing Executive Orders that cripp…

From Sep 2020 in IMHO:

What's the most damaging thing a lame duck president has ever done?

One issue with the US election process is that the election is held in November, but the newly elected president - if the incumbent isn’t re-elected - doesn’t take office until the middle of the following January. This gives a newly not re-elected president several weeks to make problems. Maybe through ineptitude. Maybe in a fit of pique… Thus far, what’s the most damaging thing a president who either was completing their second term or being ousted after just one term, has done between early N…

[QuickSilver]

The minute Trump realizes he’s lost, he will implement a scorched earth policy to the economy. I don’t know how effective his attempts will be given the remaining time, but I think he will operate on the assumption that he can successfully challenge the results and blame the tanking economy on the incoming administration, thus also act as if ‘only he alone can fix it’.