I think Foggy is mostly wrong in his prognosis.
Let me address each point
1. Lame Duck Presidency: On this he is technically righ. It's his 2nd term so he isn't running again. But that would in effect really kick in after the midterms in 2 years.
Right now he has 2 years to run his agenda. And the Republicans are not supporting him simply because they are beholden to him. They are doing so because it's mostly their agenda. They are Republicans after all. So they will mostly support him. Just like the Democrats would have done to a Democrat President.
2. Two key Reasons Why he ran: Polishing his Wealth brand and avoiding prosecution. This is just silly. Perhaps there is some truth to the latter. Seeing as Democrats are so blood thirsty that they feel a need to jail their opponents. But my sense is had he decided he was done with politics in 2021, none of the prosecutions would have started. They were started to stop him politically. So he could have simply avoided them by simply not running or signalling that he wouldn't run. It's no surprise most of the prosecutions all started late.
As for polishing his Money Making Brand, that's just silly. I don't understand how so many don't see it. He is a 78 year old billionaire... Money is NOT the motivating factor for running...it's obvious what he wants...
A Political Legacy and Adulation of fans...
Those are the 2 things he has been chasing for over a decade. If you fed him some Truth Serum, I'd bet money he'd say what he wants is for the Trump name to be thought of likethe Kennedy name. That's what he really wants! A last legacy. Being a random rich guy doesn't give you that.
3. Wildcard: Yes, on this Foggy is right. He is a wildcard. And he generally intends to break things that haven't worked for ages and bust up traditions that have coalesced around a particular type in Washington for generations.
4. His Policy and Lack of interest in doing work. This also is partly true. Donald Trump himself has little interest in the day to day grind of. Government work. That's not his forte. But we've has a President that did absolutely no work for 4 years so that shouldn't be much of an issue.
But what Donald Trump wants to do is appoint passionate people who have severe and well documented criticisms of certain branches of government that he agrees with, and have those people reorganize how things ought to be done in those departments.
Take any of his cabinet picks ( outside of the Department of Education - which he is clearly in favor of abolishing), any of the others. And simply go Google any long form interviews they've done. on the last 5 years. Ir easily becomes clear why they are on his list.
What you'd find is a throve of videos of them discussing the problems with the very department Trump is now putting them up to lead. They all have strong views about different aspects of the organization they are being tasked to oversee.
Pete Hegseth DOD
Kash Patel: FBI
Tulsi Gabbard: DNI
RFK: HHS
Even the Matt Gaetz at DOJ before he resigned nominations... And on and on....
They all fit the same model, have a passion for how they think that particular organization should be reformed.
Then there is Vivek and Elon at DOGE recommending cuts to the government everywhere. Even Bernie Sanders and a few other populist lefties have gotten on board the idea
From a Bird's eye view, what Trump represents is an Extreme Reformer who is seeking Personal Legacy... Whether he succeeds or fails is a 50/50 proposition. But what he is about to attempt seems pretty massive.
Here are definite predictions. He WILL NOT seek a 3rd term. He'd be 82. The idea he will is so silly. Dude isn't really a politician. People forget that.
And he'd attempt a massive government reform in the next 2 years. Some will be successful and others will get massive push back from entrenched interests.
On the economic front, he'll pass a tax break measure, he'll cut regulations related to oil exploration and production, then on the Presidential Front, he'll sign a bunch of orders to repeat all of Biden's dumb border orders.
Tariffs are going to be a big issue. It's clear he wants to use them as a negotiation tool. But leftists will whine about it so much that they'll probably give away the leverage and force him to backdown before the other countries make concessions.
In Foreign Policy: He'll negotiate his ass off to end the Ukraine/Russia war. And take a no nonsense attitude towards Iran and Qatar as it relates to releasing American born hostages in Hamas's camps.
While all that is going on, the other team will do their best to undermine everything he tries and they'll ascribe some negative personal interest to every action he takes.
One thing is for sure, it's going to be a roller coaster ride the next 2 years. But as it relates to Americans, he needs to speed up the economic recovery ( so it's not just paper good) and shut the border down and remove as many criminals who entered over the last 4 years.
Dax,
You do that infuriating thing where you sprinkle your shit with just enough sugar that it’s hard to separate the two, or discuss the shit or the sugar without serious effort.
You clearly know your stuff, but then you run off, well beyond the facts, into Trumpdom’s talking points.
I guess I’m just going to have to start every response with “Yes, but…” for the next 4 years! :-)
A few things we know:
He’s the consummate narcissist.
He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, which is too much and far more than anyone else who has ever held the office.
He has little to no interest in domestic politics and policies, except where they intersect with his own personal financial interests.
He is very interested in being the big swinging dick on the international stage, because he believes the title POTUS MAKES HIM the big swinging dick in world affairs and he is going to swing away, regardless of the long term geopolitical damage he might cause. Those headlines will be written long after he’s gone and he’s all about appearances NOW!
He thinks he’s the smartest person in every room he enters, when the reverse is often true, especially out in the world, away from the ring kissers.
Speaking of ring kissers, that is required of anyone who wants anything from him. The Cabinet picks illustrate this in spades.
As the head of a crime family involved in a large scale criminal enterprise, the POTUS title has saved him (and his friends and associates) from prosecution, which was another prime motivator to seek a second term.
Lastly, I have no idea what anyone with a brain sees in him. He is a lying, low IQ, grifter who learned his trade (using the tax system to enrich himself at the expense of others) from a corrupt father and has taught it to his children. At this point, they produce nothing other than licensing deals to trade on the name, much like “Mr Wonderful” on Shark Tank, another nasty little fucker who leverages the little people to keep the money train moving down the tracks.
I’m glad to hear him taking credit for the new booming economy, record stock market, US oil & gas drilling leading the world, and telling everyone that he wants credit for everything positive since Nov 5th, even though it was all painstakingly built before he changed his diaper to play dress up.
In many ways, that date is ironic, because America, much like England back in the day, watched a guy of foreign descent try to blow up Government! The big difference, of course, is that Donald Drumpf looks to be succeeding where Guido failed!