How Will Trump Exit The White House
— When he leaves and offers his final salute to the soldier guarding the Marine One helicopter, will he be alone?
Some have argued life is ultimately a failure. Because when you die, you die alone. Among the solemn in witness someone invariably will quip, “there’s no way to win!” Yes, sometimes through hard moments in life one must walk alone.
Now that I’ve depressed you, let’s get down to how Trump will depart from the power he believed was his but could never quite enjoy or wield properly. After he crosses the threshold of the White House, Trump will be in a Quixotic walk, a new thought dawning with every step he takes, towards his once-dutiful Marine One whirlybird.
It’ll be cold in January. I imagine his steps will be slow and deliberate. Perhaps his feet will find snow. There’ll be birds in the air. Will he see crows? Pidgeons? Or will he find the unison of sparrows? Somewhere along the line he has to wonder: Could it have worked better had he governed like a Jack Kennedy?
Nonetheless, as he steps towards his hard-scrabbled future he’d be well-advised to wear a classy black-brimmed hat to match his long black overcoat. He should consider that his exit will forever live in the mindset of presidential historians who are always bogged down over imagery.
Trump should try his dandy best not to look like a dud on his way out!
How will it happen? Who’ll accompany his finals steps? Will he appear leaving in dignity or in despair?
I guess much depends how he accepts the reality of his forced-transition, whether he graciously concedes to President-Elect Biden and to the nation; or whether he leaves hammerin’ and hollerin’, refusing to accept the election’s final results, wielding a belief he won and the once ’Sleepy Joe’ didn’t.
The Kinder and Gentler Exit
If Trump comes to grips with the reality that the most votes were Biden’s, that his challenges in the court didn’t hold muster because America had just undertaken the most transparent election in modern political history, that the strong paper trail of ballots showed tabulation errors couldn’t possibly make up for his vote deficiency in so many states — if this finally dawns on him, there’s a chance he’ll exit gracefully.
In this scenario he likely he won’t walk alone. He’ll leave the White House humbled, in the company of his wife and children. He’ll wave smilingly and graciously along the way. He’ll leave with the image that although it was very difficult, long and arduous, he still should be thought of fondly for the future.
The Solitary Ego-Driven Departure
He might just exit alone, unable to get past his locked-in desire to have all attention thrust only upon himself. He’ll exude his ‘Trump Trudge,’ reminding everyone that he came in as Trump and he will leave as Trump. He might say on his way out it wasn’t his fault. It only became a matter that “The fat lady has sung.”
How will he go? We don’t yet know. But I think the above two images most folks could live with.
I suspect a group of political operatives are now cast in the bowels of the White House, working on a script for Trump to accept or reject relative on how he’ll leave. Below is the scenario we fear the most.
The Sinister ‘I’m Not Done’ Goodbye
A lot of folks have Vegas odds this is what will happen. Those who’ve watched him over the years are likely convinced he’ll leave in an angry sinister manner, pretending he’s still ‘The Great One’ — the best president ever! — leading an army of dedicated followers.
In this scenario, he never accepted defeat, clinging to his claim the election was a fraud, it was he who won and that the White House was unfairly taken from him. Were he not so old, this would easily become viewed as an “I’ll be back!” exit.
Much like he hung the painted mage of himself at his New Jersey Bedminster Golf Club, con man that he is, he’ll hang on the image he will return, he’ll be back — we’ve not seen the last of Donald Trump!
In this scenario, he bursts through the White House doors onto the lawn with Rudy “The Gollum” Giuliani and Stephen “The Pike” Bannon dutifully in tow. Also in the entourage will be his two older sons, Don Jr. and Eric. Stephen Miller and some other insiders will already be where Trump will go. Each will have left in the image: “We’re not done — the fight’s still on!”
In this scenario, Trump’s wife Melania and their younger son will cut out early for Florida. Perhaps, eventually, they’ll want to get as far away as possible from the chaos of New York, Florida and Washington. Understandably, they’ll want to shun media.
Aftermath
Here’s the kicker!
No longer the president and laden with debt, Trump will certainly face both civil and criminal litigation. He’ll need lotsa money. For sure, he’ll do the book deals and speaking engagements to replicate what he always criticized Obama and the Clintons for doing. He’ll bring in some a good chunk of change this way. But he’ll need to raise money at a much quicker pace. Money is what Trump has always been about!
He won’t have oligarchs of ill repute providing him easy money or lucratively oddball real estate deals. He’ll no longer have Wilber Mills controlling the Bank of Cyprus to enable money from origins unknown and laundered through less-regulated banking systems. He won’t even have the Deutsche Bank.
He won’t be able to raise his golf club green fees because even a rich man eventually knows when fees get too high or when they’ve been had — lol. Trump will need a new ace in the hole!
For this, he need not turn too far.
The woman depicted below, who lost her job as White House spiritual advisor due to Trump’s defeat, will coddle right along side of him. She’ll continue assigning angels of rescue to him. Should Melania seek greener, friendlier and less turbulent pastures, Trump just might team up with this blonde speaker of tongues. He’ll use her megachurch to help pay off debts, perhaps even establish a line of credit somewhere, somehow. Conversely, she will use his influence to increase the size of her megachurch flock.
This could easily become a match made in ….
Well … you be the judge!
One thing will be certain: Pat Robertson’s economic bottom line will see a substantial downturn as he’ll discover he can’t compete with the world’s best con man who has teamed with a sexy speaker of tongues. She’s so good at pulling in the dough, she once even got Trump to cough up some!
Indeed, Trump and Paula White would make for a fine traveling roadshow to sow seeds of a revival, a well-funded evangelistic revolution. Be prepared for Trump’s new religious experience — his MAGA crowds and her MAGA church … a new political party perhaps?
It’s not a matter of “The Fat Lady Has Sung.” It’s not even “Roll Over Beethoven!” The ultimate irony to this tongue-twisting scenario is Donald Trump will convince himself that he won’t die alone — he’ll simply die on top of everyone else!
