The Trump Prognosis: We'll Soon See if the President Is Out for Us or Himself

Donald Trump is about to make a decision that could either take this country into a dictatorship or suffer what might be serious personal consequences.

It’s pretty stark. And it isn’t pretty.

Special Prosecutor Mueller is going to soon make a report that will say one of four things.

1. Trump is found to not have conspired with the Russians or obstructed the attempt to see if he did so.

2. Trump is found to not have conspired with the Russians or obstructed the attempt to see if he did so, but is found to have likely engaged in illegal financial activities for which he could be tried and convicted and sentenced to multi-year jail terms upon the conclusion of his presidency, much as his lawyer and campaign manager are heading toward now.

3. Trump is found to have obstructed the investigation of Russian meddling in his presidential run, which is a crime that could result in a long jail term after he concludes his presidency.

4. Trump is found to have conspired with the Russians to subvert the presidential election, which is a treasonable offense that can result, if upheld in court, in a death sentence or life imprisonment after he is relieved of his presidency.

I don’t know about 3 and 4, but 2 seems quite possible. There is a belief among many that certain Wall Street billionaires launder funds and hide tax information as a kind of way of life. It goes on. Someone is doing it. Some of his closest advisors were doing it. So said the jury that convicted them. Trump won’t release his tax returns. He tried to stiff those who attended Trump University, and we know the Trump Foundation was so misused that the State of New York has filed a lawsuit to get it shut down.

I have been reading the recent book Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, and much of it may not be accurate, but in it Wolff writes that Donald Trump and his friends and family went into the run for the presidency as a sort of lark. Nobody expected he would win, it was just thought the run would enhance Donald Trump’s business interests, massage his ego and be good publicity. As a result, Wolff says, Trump never gave serious consideration to what might transpire afterwards.

It was so unexpected. He says therefore that when the results were announced, Trump was in shock, his assistants were terrified, and Melania Trump was very unhappy because the win would mean a whole new lifestyle that she never wanted.

I also recall that during the campaign, Trump was told of the immunity from prosecution a president gets. Subsequently, he said if he became president, he could walk down Fifth Avenue and shoot people and not lose votes.

It’s true a president is immune from prosecution while in office. But something he might never have known about was that he would be liable for prosecution for things he did before the presidency if and when, however it might happen, he left the presidency. His doctors have declared him a robust man with a strong constitution. Although now 72, he may be anticipating living a long time. This is very real for him.

Under these circumstances and considering the likelihoods, Trump could either do nothing, get Mueller fired so this never comes up, or, failing that, not only win the 2020 election but afterwards continue on with the 2024 and 2028 elections in a kind of friendly dictator “President for Life” situation. As long as he remains president he needn’t worry about being either a criminal or a traitor.

As you see, he has a great motivation for remaining president forever. He needs to die in his sleep, lying in his bed with the presidential seal on the headboard and with friends and family around him.

I am not making this up. This is a very real consideration.

Soon we will know what he wants to do. He says he’s out to save the country. But maybe it’s just his neck.