I’d have someone at Congress say pointedly: “you know, it’s not something a former Pres is entitled to under any law, so we are going to follow his lead about what to do when there’s a usual and customary thing that decent people do but they’re not forced under threat of arrest to do it.”
It would be realistically in character for the boys to have a mass memorial service at some Televangelist University’s sports arena (too bad for them Falwell Jr. got his ass fired at Liberty), either preceded or followed by an “official” Lying in State at a venue in some Deep Red state capital – or more than one, heck, make them compete for who has him in what order and for how long and do a tour of Lyings-in-State across red capitals (talk about making Austin weird!). He’d need to get a reasonable level of Lenin treatment for that, though.
Creating a long term pilgrimage location would require them to be sure they own the site free and clear and they can get all the right zoning (so, not M-a-L) and the boys would probably screw that part up.
Also, it is never, ever a woman who comes up to him with grateful tears in her eyes to express her admiration. It’s always got to be some incredibly manly man.
When Nixon went into the hospital where he’d die, he waived away the attendants who were about to connect him to life support. I don’t see this as something Trump would do, given the scenario that he will be at least semiconscious and able to convey his wishes. Rather than lie in state, he’s destined to repose under a tanning lamp, sprouting tubes and wires, suspended aloft as in Michael Crichton’s Coma, against bedsores. Maybe while he’s up there, they can swing him like a Foucault’s pendulum, as had been planned for Jean-Paul Marat’s cremains.
He’s egotistical enough to believe that he “owes” future generations the benefit of his presence. Therefore he’s probably already arranged for cryogenic preservation.
I’m pretty sure he’d select to have his whole body frozen, so there won’t be anything to put on display.
I’ve heard of killing monsters with silver bullets, or with wooden stakes/ spikes, but never with a silver spike before. Any actual precedents in literature or folklore for this?