No.
Donald Trump will not be a major force in Republican politics for the next four years. He still has his fans, and they number in the tens of millions, but he’s done. The rest of the country has moved on to solving some of our most pressing problems.
The Biden Administration will be focusing on cleaning up the environment and transitioning the country from one based on fossil fuels to one that increasingly uses renewable energy. It will create programs that address the terrible consequences of poverty, especially on children. The Affordable Care Act will get major upgrades, most of which will focus on affordability, access, and preventive care. Taxes on the wealthy will increase, mostly to fund infrastructure projects including making sure that all Americans have access to affordable broadband Internet service, reliable public transportation, and bridges, tunnels and roads that, well, function appropriately. Our allies will begin to trust us again, though that will take some time. Joe Biden will not proclaim his love for dictators.
Donald Trump would run against every one of those policies. He’s done.
And, of course, we haven’t even mentioned the insurrection at the Capitol, which was predicated on a lie. Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. By a lot. But, of course, he couldn’t lose, so he created a lie and millions of people believe it still.
Americans, including police officers, died because of the lie. Some were injured. Others were traumatized. But it was a lie. Told by a liar. Whose political career is over.
Donald Trump might still have some influence in conservative and fringe-right circles, and we know he’s uber-popular with the white supremacists, fascists, racists, and anti-Semites. This might translate into victories in Senate and House races in some states, but Democrats will run commercials using the attack on the Capitol to remind Americans that it was all the result of the lie that Donald Trump just cannot let go.
Yes, he was acquitted in the Senate, but the fact that ten Republican Representatives and seven Republican Senators voted against him is a beginning. The trial laid bare what President Trump did as the mob began its attack. Nothing, for almost two hours. Yes, he did mention that he wanted his followers to be peaceful, but a responsible president would have said it immediately and would have repeated it. He did not do that. And did I mention that it was all based on a lie? I want to make sure I mention that.
I’m sure the press will continue to publish stories about Donald Trump’s influence in the GOP and how he will support candidates who support his lie, and who label the Russia investigation a witch hunt and fake news (Have you noticed that we haven’t heard these words much lately? Refreshing.), and I’m not against reporters and others having jobs and being paid, but Donald Trump’s political career is over.
And I am done writing about him.
Here’s to better days ahead.
