For most political candidates, losing a presidential election is a serious blow, but for Donald Trump, the stakes may be profoundly personal and catastrophic.
As November 5 draws near, Trump’s fate remains uncertain, with either a return to the presidency or facing serious legal consequences, including the risk of imprisonment.
If he wins, he will become the first criminal-recorded president in office, the highest executive authority, and nuclear codes in his pocket. Defeat may translate to more court battles and time in jail.
Historian and biographer of Trump Gwenda Blair said The Guardian that Trump long built an image of invincibility. He said, “He branded himself as the guy who gets away with it,” and added, “he’s facing a lot of moments of reckoning. He can go to jail. He can end up considerably less wealthy than he is. No matter what happens and no matter whether he wins or loses, there’ll be a reckoning about his health.”. Death, illness, dementia – even he cannot avoid those things.
Trump has spent his entire career crossing lines of law and ethics. In the 1970s, the Justice Department sued him and his father for allegedly discriminating against Black applicants in their apartment rentals.
Many of Trump’s casinos and real estate projects have financially faltered over the years: Trump Plaza and the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, for example, experienced financial hardship, filed bankruptcies, and shook some of the glory around him as a successful businessman during the 1990s and early 2000s.
He remained in legal troubles with the real estate training program, which was named Trump University and accused of fraud and false advertising. He settled the case in 2016 for $25 million without admitting any wrongdoing.
This time, as the country approaches the time of voting, the political loss threat is not a solitary issue but a very personal one for Trump himself. A win would ensure that he has another opportunity to dictate American politics. However, a loss threatens him with legal challenges and the possibility of finally accounting for his past conduct.
This November, a vote may well decide the depth of his unyielding conviction that he can do anything with impunity.
