You know the answer to that question, or I wouldn’t have posed it. No, Trump really has no desire to be president again. Why do I say that, you ask? Well, I’m an old lady, and have met lots of different folks in my time. I think I understand what makes people tick. So with that said, I’ll tell you what’s going on with Trump.

Bit of background. Back in the year I was born, a sociologist named David Riesman – along with a couple other guys – published a book called The Lonely Crowd. It was an assigment for me to read in a class I took at PBCC (CC back then – now SC). In that book, Riesman et al define two kids of people: inner directed – like me and you, probably – and other directed.

Inner directed comprise about 20% of the population – other directed 80%. People get a lot of reinforcement to ‘fit in with the group’ and adopt other directed ways. But what they themselves need is to be loved, rather than esteemed. Interesting statement from Wikipedia, there, eh?

So he wants to be loved, not respected. He loves the crowds (except for that guy shooting at him – guess there was no love there) but he hates the work. Making money holds no interest for him, and he’ll likely end up broke after all the lawsuits are settled and he has to pay up. He will die alone and – wait for it – unloved.

But back to my point. If he doesn’t want to be president, why is he running for the office? Because he loves the flattery, the attention, the perception of control over half the population of office holders and voters. Note I say perception. In seventy nine days, I think he’ll be in for a shock, because that perception of control will be busted. He’s very, very likely to lose this election, primarily because of what happened with the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. Yes, Millennial women, most affected by that ruling, will turn out and defeat he and Vance in their pursuit of the office of the president of these United States. I think that result was baked in from June 24, 2022 when Dobbs was released. I can honestly say I will be greatly relieved when that happens.

What will he do after he loses? Complain, try to rally the troops – literally – between November and January. But it isn’t going to work this time. Too many folks went to jail to risk it again. Then he will fade into obscurity and – let me repeat this – die alone and unloved.

But then what? What happens to the shambles that are left of the Republican party? Will they get worse in their pursuit of authoritarian control, or see it for what it was – a fever dream? Can we get back to the business of trying to survive important things like war with Iran and climate change and immigration and inflation and … you know – all the stuff those pollsters keep asking how you about? Where will there next round of leaders come from? Maybe from the folks that got kicked to the curb last time. I think we’d all welcome them back. Are you with me on this?

Time will tell.