William Howard Taft, the twenty-seventh president of the United States, chose the words to describe what should happen to the former White House residents once they leave office.
“A dose of chloroform,” says Taft, to protect the nation “from the nagging fear” that they will one day return.
It can be assumed that Taft – who later became a Supreme Court judge – thought so not for himself, but for his White House predecessor and longtime ally Theodore Roosevelt. At the end of Taft’s first term, Roosevelt took on him, first for the Republican nomination and then for president: the two men eventually lost to Woodrow Wilson.
It’s hard not to think of Taft’s advice when you think about Donald Trump’s future. Although he is leaving the White House next week, he has done nothing to suggest – even after being blamed for last week’s riots – that he retire from the public arena.
During Wednesday’s “ March to Save America, ” which turned into the seizure of the Capitol, Trump, his family, and the remaining top advisers seemed to be looking back not on their four-year term in the White House, but on the future. . , in the next phase of a movement that divided the Republican Party and shook American democracy.
In a video posted last week by the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., members of the president’s inner circle are shown backstage dancing backstage to the music of the 1982 pop hit “Gloria” before the event . , as if this were just another campaign meeting. Trump and his advisers repeatedly hinted that he would compete again in 2024, but now he faces a much tougher path as the House of Representatives moves into the second impeachment trial against him in a year.
As a former president, he faces a series of potentially devastating legal challenges. Prosecutors, both federal and local, in New York are already investigating him, and there are calls for an investigation into his phone call asking the Georgia secretary of state to “find” votes for him, as well as his role. in the violence that broke out on June 6.
A small but growing number of Republican lawmakers called for the president to resign or be impeached. Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account and robbed the president of his 88 million followers.
It would be naive to dismiss Trump’s political capabilities or assume that he has lost most of his fan base. However, he will run them from a smaller pulpit, and not just because his social media accounts were shut down.
“There is no way Donald Trump can figure out how overnight you are the most powerful person in the world and become a nobody,” said the president’s historian Douglas Brinkley.
“You think, ‘I’m a big celebrity and I’ve got followers and I’ll be back in 2024. But now you’re fighting without any official power around you. Nothing. Even those without big egos, such as Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush, struggled to adjust to bourgeois life. ‘
Bush Sr. re-immersed himself in White House politics after his defeat, following the election of his son as president, whom he accompanied repeatedly for the daily secret summary for the president during his visits to Washington.
Carter, meanwhile, was sometimes criticized for interfering too much in the affairs of his successors, as was then seen as interfering with Bill Clinton’s policies toward North Korea and Bush senior toward Kuwait.
For some former presidents who came out under less-than-ideal circumstances, the post-presidential term provides an opportunity for redemption, financial or otherwise. But the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) has just grabbed a tournament from Trump’s Bedminster golf course. major in 2022 and your hotel business could have wider implications.
Also, the happiest former president of the moment appears to be George W. Bush, who returned to Texas and enjoys painting.
If Donald Trump continues with another race for the White House, he won’t be the first former president to do so. Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, Herbert Hoover, and Roosevelt all tried to return to the presidency of the United States after leaving office. only one – Cleveland – was successful, however.
Judgment
Democrats in Congress began lobbying Donald Trump, accusing him of inciting insurgency in connection with last week’s violent attack on Capitol Hill.
Challenge
The House of Representatives can vote on the impeachment tomorrow, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters. The approval will make Trump the only US president to be challenged twice.
Capitol
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed Congress last week, forcing lawmakers to go to safety certifying Joe Biden’s victory, killing five.
Rally
The violence came after Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to march on Capitol Hill at a rally, repeating false claims that his outright electoral defeat was illegal.
