Is Donald Trump Finally in Serious Trouble and Breaking Apart? No, Probably Not.

Let me preface this by saying right out loud what it seems many people do not want to believe or have not accepted, but which to me feels like the absolute truth.

You ready?

Donald Trump will never have to answer for his crimes while he is alive. 

Period.

There will be no time behind bars. There will be no removal from office. Hell, there won't even be a Frost/Nixon style interview where he finally admits to any kind of wrongdoing.

You will get none of that. Nothing.

In fact, if anything, I believe that this guy will not only run for a third term, but that given how the Trump party, formerly the Republican party, have rigged everything to ensure that they will win, Trump will likely get a third term.

Sure, laugh if you will. But I remember a couple of years ago everyone talking about how unlikely it would be that Trump would ever be president again, even while I felt that scenario was frankly inevitable. And despite all of the crimes and horrendous behavior and exaggerated reports of his declining health, yes, Trump will win yet another election and serve yet another term.  

Don't believe me?

Fine.

But I suspect you are playing a mean trick on yourself. Trust me, I would love to believe that Trump will simply disappear soon, never to be seen or heard from again. I would have loved it had he been the bad joke candidate that so many people dismissed him as in 2016. Would have loved it if people had seen what was obvious during his first term, that he was grotesquely unqualified for the office, or seen him impeached and removed from office. Would have loved it if all of his lies and absurd behavior caught up with him, or if he were held accountable for his obvious role in January 6th. Would have loved to see him behind bars like so many people kept predicting once he was out of office. I would have loved if his Truth Social post suggesting that parts of the Constitution might need to be suspended would have been cause for alarm enough to end his political relevance. Would have loved to see him be replaced by anyone on the Republican side. Would have loved to see him lose the 2024 election so that this country might finally be rid of this plague that has descended on the country. 

And sure, I would love to believe that his time is short. That he is about to be removed from office. That the Epstein coverup will haunt him and put a premature end to his career. Would love to believe that those headlines about his dwindling support might actually mean something substantial. Would love to believe that people are 'waking up" as so many confidently proclaim.

The thing is, I don't believe it. Because what I see around me is still far, far too many people with unwavering support, and others who's tacit support might be lukewarm, but still amounts to support.

So yes, I believe that Trump will be in the Oval Office for a long, long time. That he will win another term in office, and possibly win yet another term in office after that. 

Don't get me wrong: that's not what I want. It's the farthest thing from what I want.

However, it feels like recent history needs to be understood and accepted, even if we do not want to admit it or learn lessons from it. And history suggests that once you give a tyrant power, you really indeed will not get it back.

And this country gave him the keys to what seems now to be his kingdom. All it cost us was what was left of our democracy and our collective decency.

This is a dark chapter in our history. As much as I want to believe that it will all soon be over, I cannot bring myself to believe it. Far from it. Call me a cynic, but my own belief is that Americans need for things to become a lot worse - and we're getting there - before things get better. 

To be sure, it is depressing. But I suspect that it is more depressing to constantly believe that you are in the right, that a majority of people are with you, and that you are about to win. That the ground is about to give any moment now. And then you will finally prevail, and Trump will be deservedly relegated to the dustbin of history. 

Unfortunately, history has shown otherwise. It's not just Trump. We have been going on this course for a long, long time now. The powers that be kept chipping away at our constitutional rights, so that many of us applaud when someone takes away our freedoms. Reagan and Bush I busting unions and attacking decent wages and benefits, getting away with scandals like the Savings and Loans and especially the Iran-Contra Gate that put Watergate to shame.. Clinton repealing Glass Steagall and privatizing prisons and pulling political gimmicky at every turn. Bush II waging an illegal war based on false premises and passing the PATRIOT Act that limited the rights of Americans - with their approval - and getting away with one corporate scandal after another. Then virtually destroying the economy right towards the end of his term. Then Obama attacking the Constitutional right of habeas corpus and spying on leaders of nations allied to the United States and conducting illegal drone strikes to kill people at will. 

Now, Trump is the literally and figuratively bloated, grossly exaggerated version of all of that on steroids. Reagan was the first "Teflon President," then people said that Clinton was "the real Teflon President. George W. Bush was the next "Teflon President." 

In fact, Donald Trump is the actual "Teflon President." Apparently, he does not even have to bother denying guilt or claiming to feel bad (as Reagan did with selling weapons (illegally to Iran), like all of those other guys did. Trump makes headlines for all of the wrong reasons, but before we even have had a chance to begin to truly grasp it, he is on to the next ridiculous news story, the next farce, the next set of outrageous headlines. Everything is always a national emergency at every turn. it's always chaotic, always a blur of activity. We never can catch our breath, can we? 

The thing is, Americans seem to like it. And even if they don't, what does it matter? We have grown so numb to it all, so used to slimy politicians and elites - and let us not mistake Trump for not being one - that I am not even sure we could stop this vicious cycle even if we really wanted to. 

I'm not sure that we want to, collectively. I'm not sure why, but that feels like the case. 

The idea of Trump pursuing a third term should be outrageous. Should be that long sought limit where the American people finally draw the line with this guy.

But that point never comes, does it?

That said, I am making a prediction, and I hope like hell that this prediction is wrong. Here it is: we will see Trump run for and win a third term. Possibly a fourth term, and maybe more beyond that. 

Don't believe me?

So be it.

Just don't say that I didn't warn you.