The Former Guy made his declaration of intent in a speech to a diminished but loyal crowd at this year's CPAC event. He promised only hatred and revenge. Little vision of the future other than destroying everyone and everything that he hates. And he hates, and hates, and hates a lot. He said:
“Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”
He repeated the phrase for emphasis: “I am your retribution.”
Bolton said "“It would be, first and foremost, getting back at the people he thinks deserve some kind of punishment for not doing what he tells them to do,” Mr. Bolton said. “And it’s a big group of people.”
“I think that’s also a signal that he’s not going to accept a second defeat, the same way he didn’t accept the first defeat,” Mr. Bolton said of Mr. Trump’s election lies.
This is a very disturbed and mentally ill person. And he still has a devoted, cult like following. I'm afraid that there are too many in his base that share his hatred and craving for revenge. And they are being fed incendiary hate fuel by the Right Wing propaganda bubble. Once inside the bubble it is hard to get out.
There is no doubt that he will refuse to concede an election loss, and there is no doubt that he will lead a group of armed and violent followers to the Capitol to stage a coup if he loses. He tried it before and failed. He will have people much smarter than himself (not hard to find) that could do a better job of succeeding.
I expect America to do better than a second Trump campaign, coup, and autocratic reign of hatred and revenge. But he has to be stopped, and the first line of defense against this dangerously ill man are Republican voters. I hope and pray that they vote against him and keep him from the nomination.
