Donald Trump: How Will This Ex-President’s Influence Continue?

No matter how you feel about the divisive figure known as Donald Trump, it’s impossible to argue that the man doesn’t know how to leverage influence. Having spent decades balancing between businessman and media personality, Trump had long been building up to the political show he wanted to put on before becoming president.

Under normal circumstances, ex-presidents would usually spend at least a year or two of their lives out of the public eye once someone else has taken office. Obama is a great example of this, with most of his public appearances and conversations with the press being apolitical over Trump’s presidency. Of course, though, Donald J. Trump has vowed to run for president in 4 year’s time, and it is unlikely that the public has seen the last of him.

Biden and Harris have a hard job ahead of them, and the influence that Trump has left behind is sure to only make this harder. But how exactly can an ex-president leverage their influence and continue to keep their name in people’s minds? Trump is sure to teach the masterclass on this subject over the next few years, but this article is going to give you a preview of what’s to come.

Trump’s Impeachment

Trump is the first president in history to be impeached more than once. This time, the president is being accused of inciting insurrection during the Capitol Hill riots as the Electoral College met to count votes back in January, with leading democrats hoping to achieve a conviction that will see Trump unable to run for office again in the future.

Currently, it seems unlikely that Trump’s impeachment is going to lead to a conviction, with many Republicans staying on their leader’s side. Whatever happens as a result of this process, though, the impeachment trial is keeping Trump in the news and giving his followers something to be angry about. This could make it harder for Joe Biden to capture the attention of the Senate, using valuable resources that could be betting used fighting the current pandemic.

It’s worth noting that any conviction in this process would only impact Donald Trump himself. The rest of his family would still be able to run for office, and both Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump have expressed interest in pursuing this role.

The Republican Party

Few politicians in recent times have shaken up a party quite like Trump has changed the GOP. Many House representatives, senators, and other important lawmakers that are currently in office are ardent supporters of Trump, with his work helping them to secure their positions. Not only will this make it harder for an impeachment conviction to be approved, but it could also mean that Trump’s ideals last far longer than many voters will like.

Of course, this isn’t to say that Trump himself will be pulling the strings of old supporters who are still in office. This would be very difficult to achieve, while also having limited value compared to the scandal it could cause. Instead, it’s more likely that leaders who have a similar way of thinking to Trump will continue to cause minor disruption in government for the next few years.

Many Trump supporters are talking about the idea of starting a new party, expressing anger that the GOP didn’t wholly support trump with his claims of voter fraud. Few true Republicans would leave the old party for something like this, and independent parties that fall out of the two-party system have extremely low chances of success, at least if history is anything to judge it by.

The Voting System

If you’ve been following the news for the last 6 months or so, you will have certainly heard about the claims of voter fraud in the US in the 2020 election. Fortunately, all of these claims have been found to be false, with the highest courts in the country unanimously agreeing that there was no evidence of widespread fraud.

While widespread fraud almost certainly didn’t occur, many Americans believe that it did, and this means that work is going to have to be done to improve the voting system to build trust in these people. It would be impossible to have insurrections and claims of voter fraud each year, making this something that Biden’s government is going to try to stamp out.

Social Media

The start of 2021 came with a lot of controversial decisions from social media companies. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all decided to ban Trump or stop him from posting following the Capitol insurrection. This has caused surges in popularity for other social media sites, though it has also prompted Trump to talk about working to build his own platform.

It’s hard to say whether or not something like this would ever come to pass, especially seeing as this sort of project can be extremely expensive. If Donald Trump manages to build his own social platform, though, division and hostility on these platforms could cease, separating opposing groups and making it harder for people to debate.

Normal People

It would be wrong to say that Trump didn’t have a semi-successful election in 2020; it’s just a shame that he didn’t focus on his achievements. He managed to get more votes than any sitting president in history, showing that his support is still very strong across the whole of the United States. Normal people can have a huge amount of influence on one another, and they don’t have the same restrictions that politicians do.

This means that you’re unlikely to stop seeing Trump t-shirts anytime soon, and you may even be exposed to other types of propaganda in the coming months. Depending on the result of the impeachment, the large following that Trump still has could prove to cause further issues similar to the Capitol Insurrection. Of course, though, it could also turn out that the love for Trump dwindles as Biden is able to show his success.

The Current Government

Trump may not have appeared to do a huge amount while he was president, but he actually managed to get quite a bit done considering the amount of time he spent on his golf course. Unfortunately, though, much of his work wasn’t very progressive, with examples like extending border fencing and banning transgender people from the military easily explaining why so many people didn’t like Trump.

Unfortunately, while Biden has already managed to turn back time on some of Trump’s negative work, it’s going to take many years before it is all cleaned up, especially when it comes to relations with certain countries around the globe. Biden will still be able to get his own work done, but much of his attention will be taken by this sort of action for at least the next year or so.

Of course, it’s worth noting that not all of Trump’s work was negative. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the US economy was in a good position, and this was largely thanks to Trump.

American Life

The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked the world on an unprecedented scale. Some countries have done better than others, but the US has done shockingly badly compared to nations that have far fewer resources to leverage during times like this. Trump’s response to the virus has long been far too soft, with the man himself refusing to wear a mask even after he caught Covid-19 at work.

The impact of the response to Covid-19 is likely to be felt for a very long time, with the economy and the lives of normal people being devastated by this event. Trump’s stimulus packages have helped with this, but it will be hard for many people to live a normal life for years to come, and this is largely thanks to Trump’s influence. He can’t be blamed entirely for the virus, but a poor response is almost as bad as no response.

Businesses

Many businesses have felt the sting over the last few years, but some have managed to thrive under Trump’s leadership. This means that there are quite a few prominent businesses out there that support Donald Trump, and this means that they could potentially lobby for him in the future. This means that Trump could still have an influence on the way that politics work in the US, but it will be in a far more traditional form for a businessman.

On the other side of this, many small and independent businesses are very much against Trump, especially after the handling of the BLM protests and the Covid-19 outbreak left many of them devastated. This could prove to have a negative impact on Trump, but it is still something that he has influenced.

While Donald Trump may still be able to run for president in 2024, many experts believe that he is unlikely to find success. Starting a new party, making powerful speeches, and even proving that he is fit to lead simply can’t make up for the events that occurred in Washington since the 2020 election. Of course, though, this doesn’t mean that his family will be out of office forever.