Trump May Go Away, but Trumpublicanism will be With Us for a Long Time"

"Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018)

No picture of Trump this time around. We've seen many too many of him in this space already.

I received a note from a friend commenting on the notice that I had sent around announcing the publication of my new book: "Trump's Presidential Years: History as it Happened, 2011-2021 (in 6 vols.)." In her note, she said: "I am glad we have moved on from Trump, though what a long tail we have to contend with." Indeed, Trump will prove to be, and actually already has been, one of the most influential figures in U.S. history. Just as the Civil War and the issues integrally related to it (other than "property-in-human-beings" and "expansion-into-the-Territories" that were specific to it), like its foundational ideology of "White Supremacy," are still very much with us.  But Trump has taken those issues further, and has made them openly part of his political platform and ideology.  And so, what Trump ran on and still stands for (and his clones, of course --- see the Republo-fascist Hose majority) will be with us for the foreseeable future. Why? Because Trump has made them central to the ideology of the modern Republican Party.

The major issues/positions that he has confirmed as "Republican" are:

1. Open racism as central to the Republican Party's ideology/platform.

2. Xenophobia as central to it as well.

3. Election denialism.

4. The politicization of an infectious disease and the public health response to it.

5. The institution of Conspiracy Theorization into the platform of a leading political party: e.g., Trump won, COVID is a hoax, QAnon.

This is not to say that racism and xenophobia have not been part of Republican ideology for almost the entire time of its existence. They have, from when they agreed to end Reconstruction as part of the 1876 deal that made Rutherford B. Hayes President in 1876, and a Republican Congress passed the Chinse Exclusion Act in 1883. Major milestones for the Republicans on their way to where they stand now were the Immigration Act of 1924 and the implementation of Nixon's "Southern Strategy." But even though I believe that Trump himself will not be a player in U.S. politics for much longer, the Trumpism that has taken over the Republican Party (which, to be sure, was very ready for that takeover) will be with us for the foreseeable future.

As regular readers of mine know, I believe that Trump will flee the country, certainly before the next Presidential election, most likely sometime this year. Of course, that flight will not take place until he has raised enough money at the retail level as he can by running the con that he will be running for President in 2024. (And yes, unlike the self-delusional fabulist George Santos, Trump is a liar. They are both con men. But when Santos is not telling the truth he doesn't realize it, at least at the time(s) he says what he says. Trump, on the other hand, each and every time he is telling a falsehood, he knows it.)  As to further evidence that in the end Trump will flee, refer, for example, to (an almost complete list of) the "17 Key Findings of the "January 6th Committee," as summarized by The Guardian (and further summarized in the published version of this column by yours truly).

And so, to repeat, Trump know all of this. His lawyers (well maybe not all of them) know this. More importantly there is "Georgia" staring down his throat, there is the Special Prosecutor examining all of the evidence of possible (sic) criminal behavior around Jan. 6, , as well as the "Mar-a-Lago Docs." case, as well as the New York State Attorney General's civil action, as well as the E. Jean Carroll defamation (rape) case, and so on and so forth.

BUT, BUT, BUT

With the Likelihood that Trump will leave, what Does All of this Mean for the Future of The Republican Party?

In my view, the likelihood is that if anything, it will just get Trumpier. Taking certain points in no particular order of importance.

A) Mike Lindell, with no apparent qualifications for the job other than he can persuade lots of people to buy his pillows untested in person, actually ran for the position of Chair of the Republican Party. Apparently, he has one plank in his platform (other than the platforms for the mattresses on which his mattress pads rest): election denialism.

B) Kari Lake, who lost the Arizona's Governor's race, at the ballot box and in court, and still trumpeting "it was stolen from me" at the recent Republican national meetings and in some quarters is being touted for the Repub. Vice-Presidential nomination in 2024.

C) Marjorie Taylor Greene "9-11 denier," one-time Q-Anon theorist, spotter of the (a?) Jewish space laser, and claimant that if she had been at "Jan. 6" she would have been armed and she "would have won," is on the Congressional Homeland Security Committee.

D) Paul Gosar, who at one time threatened violence against certain Democratic members of the House (and who --- this is admittedly completely irrelevant --- is, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cordially disliked by most of his relatives), has been put on the Congressional Oversight Committee.

E) An announcement has been made that one or more House committees will be investigating Hunter Biden's painting sales. It is not exactly clear under just which legal authority that would be carried out, but these Republicans will do their very best to find a way. (Just like they will presumably find a way to "absolutely guarantee" that whatever is on "Hunter Biden's laptop" was there when he left it at that shop for repair, AND that nothing else has been added [or subtracted].)

F) They equate the finding of top security files in Biden residences (as well as one of Pence’s), which were turned over immediately, with the Trump mother lode(s) which he did his best to conceal.

G) They "investigate" the work of the "January 6th Committee" looking for all sorts of nefarious deeds. They should beware of this one, however. First, it will mean work. Not that any of the "investigators" will actually read even the initial report (length: approximately 600 pages), but presumably staff members (always HIGHLY qualified for Republicans --- you know, like one or more young Trump lawyers who face possible disbarment) will have to.  Second, much more importantly, be careful what you look for. For example, someone might actually come up with the afternoon-of-Jan.-6 phone log of one of the principal investigators, Jim (have fun at the gym) Jordan. Or, let's say, those missing Secret Service logs, or why exactly, did four members of the Capitol police, apparently not injured in the attack, commit suicide. Ooops! And etc.

H) Turning for the moment from investigation to legislation, anyone seen a Repub. plan for dealing with inflation, or let's say, "the border?" Let me know when you do. I'll happily write it up.

I) "Fresh off their new book, Myth America, Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer argue that Republicans have radically damaged the country's ability to discern fact from fiction."

J) Ron DeSantis (much more on him, down the road, of course) is turning from Trump's-racism-for-the-most-part-by-innuendo to open, no-doubt-about-it-racism, by-law. The only question for DeSantis's Florida now is, when will the public book burning commence?

K) Finally, for now, the Republicans are, and will continue to be, into the use of "Trump's Seven Magic Tricks," with which he has now infected the whole of the Republican Party. In particular from that list will be: "Always attack; never defend;" "When in doubt just sue;" "Use your enemies; make more of them if you can;" and the "oh woe is me; everyone's against [us]" trick.

Yes, GOP has become the GOTP. Anyone who thinks that it will revert back to its former, bad enough, self, at some time in the future, has another think coming.