Though he may still refuse to believe it, President Donald Trump will be out of a job as of January 20, 2021. President-elect Joe Biden is already preparing his team to move into the White House, interviewing his staff and releasing names for his Cabinet. The wheels of the transition government have begun turning, making Trump a lame-duck president — whether he likes it or not.
As president, Trump has utterly captured the imagination of the United States in a way that makes any sort of quiet retirement unlikely. He had a whopping 89 million Twitter followers, the highest of any politician besides Barack Obama, and he has been covered by the media in a way that seems almost like an obsession. There is no doubt that his vision will continue to influence Republican Party politics, and there is quite a large chance that he himself will not be leaving either. But, as it stands, he is currently out of a job, so where does he go next?
Past presidents have taken a wide range of approaches to spending their retirement. Recently retired presidents in particular may serve as inspiration for our current president as he seeks post-presidential occupation, or simply as guidance for us to make an educated guess.
The most recent example of a presidential retiree would be Barack Obama, who spent some time away from politics and the public light, but then eventually retook it by writing social media posts against President Trump’s immigration policies, delivering a eulogy at Sen. John McCain’s funeral and campaigning for presidential candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 general election. He also signed a multiyear deal with Netflix, wrote a book and is reportedly offering speeches at a fee of $400,000 — his annual salary as president. On top of all of that, he is working on developing the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Trump’s other predecessors include George W. Bush, who returned to Dallas and began developing the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University. He wrote a memoir and a biography of his father, engaged in various charity activities and painted everything from his dog Barney to landscapes. Bush has also made a couple of sparse political statements on the Islamic State group and the violent rally in Charlottesville, in addition to campaigning during the 2016 elections for his brother, Jeb Bush.
Bill Clinton, who occupied the White House before George W. Bush, still remains a political fixture as well. Most notably, he campaigned for Hillary Clinton in her 2008 and 2016 presidential bids, spoke numerous times at the DNC and undertook various diplomatic missions. He also wrote a couple of books, set up a charitable foundation and helped start a presidential library with his name.
From these examples of prior presidents, we can probably deduce a number of things about his post-presidency life. Donald Trump is likely to sign a book deal, having previously published an astonishing 15 books that detail various parts of his life, philosophy and business strategies. The books that the three previous presidents published have all topped 3 million copies in sales, not only establishing precedent for Trump to publish an autobiography but also proving how lucrative the business is. He may help set up his own presidential library or presidential center like his predecessors. Further, the president will likely continue to offer political support to those he approves of and scathing commentary to those he does not. These are all general actions that presidents in the United State’s recent history have often taken, largely out of tradition and custom.
Trump is anything but a conventional president though. Since he is not a career politician and instead began as a businessman, he may take back his companies from his son and continue to run them; however, recently leaked tax returns suggest that these business pursuits are not going as well as he wants us to think they are. His previous trek on television on “The Apprentice” may also lead him on the route of selling his fame and his identity on national television.
Another possibility feared by Democrats and touted by Trump’s supporters is a reelection bid. Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has said that he is “likely” to run again in 2024 and again in 2028 if need be. Once again, this is not confirmed, as the president has not spoken directly to this, but it does not seem like an unlikely event. Various political betting markets have listed Donald Trump as the most likely Republican nominee, along with names like Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, placing his chances very high compared to other Republicans within the party.
Donald Trump’s children are also now prominent figures in politics and the government. His daughter Ivanka served as an advisor to the president and figured prominently at many G-20 meetings with representatives from leading rich and developing nations. Donald Trump Jr. also is a Republican Party favorite. He rose to fame in 2017, when he delivered an impassioned defense of himself and his father on Fox News after a New York Times investigation revealed his role in organizing a meeting between campaign officials and Russians promising information on Hillary Clinton at the Trump Tower. He also gave a popular speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention in which he praised his father’s administration and championed the freedom of conservative speech against what he saw as a liberal culture of political correctness. Donald Trump is sure to continue to support his children in their political endeavors, and there is a possibility that, like the Clinton and Bush Dynasties, there will be a Trump political dynasty as well.
With all this speculation, one thing is clear: This is not the last we will have heard from Donald Trump. Though he is out of a job, it is likely that he will be a fixture of American politics for years to come.
Image by Suzy Brooks is licensed under the Unsplash License.
