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Donald Trump isn’t going away. A majority of Americans served the 45th president an electoral rebuke, denying him a second term in the White House.
But don’t expect him to quietly recede from public life, our White House correspondent Peter Nicholas warns.
Now as ever, Trump stands to profit from America’s divisions: There are hats to sell, and a mythology to spin. He may never concede his 2020 loss. Trump (and his family and Trump voters and Trumpism) will continue to haunt the GOP, and the nation.
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Trump’s forever campaign is just getting started. “Paradoxically, Trump’s loss may well increase the loyalty of his most ardent fans, who will be angry that he has been unfairly deprived of his rightful role,” Anne Applebaum warns.
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He’ll continue to seek attention. “From his exile at Mar-a-Lago, he’ll phone in to favored TV anchors and radio hosts to carp about the election results,” Peter predicts. “He might start a new media venture or tease his base by vowing to run again in 2024.”
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And his ideology will live on. “The situation is a perfect setup,” Zeynep Tufekci writes, “for a talented politician to run on Trumpism in 2024.”
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Meanwhile, Republican leaders remain awfully quiet on Biden's win. “The election may be over, but the characteristic political cowardice of the GOP is still here,” David A. Graham argues.