Donald Trump, what life after the White House?
What will Donald Trump's life be like after he leaves the White House on January 20, 2021? A return to the small screen, legal proceedings, a new mandate in 2024 or a road trip with Melania? The question remains unresolved while the Republican president has just been deprived of a second term after the victory, this Saturday, November 7, of Joe Biden.
To hear it in the campaign, Donald Trump had never considered defeat.
Deprived of a second term by the victory of Joe Biden, he will now have to address a thorny question: what will his life be like after his departure from the White House on January 20, 2021?
If he regularly evokes his life before politics - "I had such a magnificent life" - he is less talkative about the one after.
His claimed passion for golf could push him to frequent the greens with even more diligence. On Saturday, just as American television networks announced his defeat, he was at his club in Sterling, Virginia, not far from Washington.
📸 #Instantané : Donald Trump marchant et jouant dans son club de golf à Sterling, en Virginie. Il s'y était rendu peu avant l'annonce de l'élection de Joe Biden par les médias américains #AFP pic.twitter.com/0Sp7ewK0zZ
— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) November 7, 2020
In the light of the past four years, only one scenario seems difficult to imagine: the discreet withdrawal and anonymity.
The return to television?
At the time of conversion, Donald Trump could be tempted again by the small screen.
If his name as a property developer was known in the 80 and 90, it's "The Apprentice" that allowed him to push the door of all US households.
Co-producer of this reality TV show that he presented between 2004 and 2015, he managed, despite the ups and downs of his real estate empire, to project an image of a strong and charismatic businessman. .
In a large Trump Tower boardroom, the real estate mogul was receiving candidates and departed in an emission, using his now ritual phrase: "You're fired" ( "! You're fired").
On several occasions since his arrival at the White House, he has deplored the positioning of Fox News, not Trumpist enough for his taste.
Viewers “want an alternative now. And me too ! He tweeted a few months ago.
2021 could be an opportunity to get started, either from a blank sheet (but the initial investment could be prohibitive), or from existing “friendly” channels, such as One America News and NewsMax TV.
Courts ?
Once the White House leaves, Donald Trump's judicial horizon could darken greatly.
In New York, it is subject to two investigations that could each earn him prosecuted. The first, criminal and initiated by Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance, targets possible acts of tax fraud, insurance fraud and accounting manipulation. The second, civil, was initiated by New York State Attorney Letitia James and seeks to determine whether the Trump Organization lied about the size of its assets to obtain loans and tax benefits.
Other proceedings could resurface when he leaves 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The temptation 2024?
If, unlike his three predecessors - Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - he failed to obtain a second term, he did not suffer the rout at the polls that some predicted him.
In an election with record participation, he obtained 70 million votes (against 74 million for Joe Biden) and could therefore be tempted to stay at the heart of the debates.
In theory, nothing prevents him from trying his luck again in four years. The Constitution prohibits serving more than two terms, but making two non-consecutive is a possibility.
Only one man succeeded in this bet: Grover Cleveland, at the end of the 19th century. Elected in 1884, he was defeated in 1888, then elected again in 1892. He is, in the history books, both the 22nd and the 24th President of the United States.
Beyond the innumerable political obstacles to be overcome (the “Grand Old Party” could be tempted to turn the page on Trumpism), the question of age could also arise.
Grover Cleveland was 56 at the start of his second term. Donald Trump would have 78.
Mick Mulvaney, one of his former chiefs of staff, now the United States' special envoy to Northern Ireland, openly mentioned the idea on Thursday.
"I clearly expect that the president remains involved in politics and I think it will be among the people who are likely candidates in 2024," he said.
Take the road ?
In the tone both provocative and ironic that he likes, the 45th president in history has mentioned several “leads” in recent months.
In June at the White House he had mentioned, in the tone of humor, the possibility of a road trip with his wife Melania Trump.
“Maybe I'll drive to New York with the First Lady. I think I'll buy a motorhome and travel with the First Lady ”.
On a less romantic note, he stopped a few days ago during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania to admire the trucks parked from a distance.
“Nice trucks! Do you think I could climb into one of them and go? I would love that, just drive and cut the road ”.
During a trip to The Villages, the largest retirement community in Florida, he spoke of a more peaceful option.
“I will be moving to The Villages. It's not a bad idea. I even like it a lot! ".
There remains a more radical option.
"I'm not feeling very well," he said, a few weeks ago citing humiliation that would represent him as a defeat to "Sleepy Joe".
“Maybe I'll have to leave the country”.
