I know there have already been several threads about what would happen if Trump refused to leave the White House. However, I would like to explore one very specific hypothetical scenario. This will all be speculation. There are no factual answers. Suppose Trump loses the next election but refuses to vacate the White House. Almost everyone that matters such as Congress, the courts, the executive departments, etc. recognize that the new president is the actual president. The new president quickly orders the Secret Service to secure all sensitive areas in the White House. The new president announces that Trump is free to stay at the White House as long as he wants as his honored guest. White House staff is instructed to let Trump do whatever he wants so long as it does not endanger national security and he does not have access to sensitive information or sensitive areas. The new president ensures that Trump is well fed and the costs of Trump’s food are paid from the new president’s personal funds. Just to be fair, the new president invites all of the former presidents and their families to come stay at the White House whenever they wish for as long as they wish. The new president might put a limit on how many, if any, Trump’s handlers are allowed access to the White House and allow the press access to Trump whenever he is in a public area. The new president might even make the output of non-sensitive White House security cameras public so any interested person could see what Trump does all day.
Would Trumpists be able to use this situation to their advantage in any meaningful way? Would the general public’s opinion of Trump quickly become something like “That poor old man. He needs help. I’m so happy the new president is not mean to him.”? Would Trump’s political career be absolutely over?
[Apparently there is an icon somewhere on this new system that allows you to delete your own post before you even realize what you have done and there is no turning back. I don’t even know what I clicked on.]
The White House can’t continue to be a reality show. No big brother cameras. No celebrity visits from previous season’s contestants. If Trump refuses to leave he must be escorted out. And no need to be too gentle, okay?
trump won’t refuse to leave the White House. The place is a dump and he hates it there. Come January 20th he’ll be in Florida, tweeting up a storm and scarfing hamberders.
I’m sure Trump would be an annoyance from time to time but it couldn’t be much more annoying than your wife’s cats jumping into the middle of whatever you happen to be doing at the moment.
I would. Once he is out, Putin will have no further use for him and will drop him like a hot potato. From useful idiot to useless idiot in one fell swoop.
But Putin would have a perfect use for him, hosting a possible heir to the throne of rival nations on your own to foment insurrections there is a time honored practice, and since Trump (and his fans) will never in a million years accept that he was rightfully defeated, he can serve the same purpose.
Meaningful? No. But I would imagine the Trumpist narrative would be that Trump is staying on at the White House because he selflessly volunteered to act as a key advisor in the new administration.
Yes, I think pity would be the main thing the general public would feel towards any former President who was so obviously unable to move on.
“The Trump Show”. Like the Truman Show, but with Trump in a big bubble with a fake White House in it. The ratings would be huuuuge - I mean absolutely bigly!
I don’t see why Trump would stay in the White House in this situation. Hasn’t he already complained before that it’s shabby compared to Mar-a-Lago or Trump Tower? He would sulkily pack up and go back to his more comfortable homes.