What awaits Donald Trump after leaving the White House?
In an interview with DW, Michael D'Angelo, author of two Trump biographies, predicts a bright future for Trump and his family. A future that has little to do with hotels and the White House.
American journalist Michael D'Antonio, biographer and Pulitzer Prize winner, spent a lot of time with Donald Trump while writing two books about him. His most recent work was published in 2020 and is titled High Crimes: The Corruption, Impunity, and Impeachment of Donald Trump. D'Antonio spoke to DW about how he envisions Trump's future will be once he steps down as president, in January 2021.
What awaits Donald Trump when he leaves the White House?
Michael D'Antonio: It's very clear that from a young age, and I'm talking about the 1960s, what Donald Trump was most interested in was being a showman. Yes, it is true that he has built some towers and owns golf courses, but the bulk of his income since 2000 has come from television entertainment. When we see him so animated during the campaign and his energetic interventions, it is quite obvious what he wants to do. I suppose we will see it on television constantly. He will probably be a partial or total owner of some news network of some kind.
If we take into account that 70 million people voted for him, even if that represents only 30 million households, if each of them subscribes for a dollar a month, we can already get a good idea of the income it could generate. And besides, he would employ his children and probably half of his cabinet staff. Ivanka Trump could have a show called "Lovely Like Me." The possibilities are endless. The best way to imagine it is by thinking of the most ridiculous concept possible and then we will get closer to predicting what the product of his future efforts will be like. I would be very surprised if by January 21, 2021 he is not already immersed in a media enterprise of this type.
And what does he tell me about the existing Trump brand? His hotels, golf courses, etc ...
It's interesting to think that the real estate and hotel businesses could back down for the Trump family. Those are very difficult businesses. The brand has been damaged in the luxury realm and they have no properties at the other end of the market. So I imagine they could sell what they still have.
Would Trump accept the failure of his hotels?
I imagine I would find a way to explain it. "Those horrible people ruined me and all the efforts I made for these communities. I helped bring New York back and revitalize Washington D.C." He will take credit for everything except that the sun rises every day and in the end he will say: "They treated me very badly." It's a fantasy, but he emotionally resonates with his followers, who feel the same way.
What could Trump's presidential library hold? (N. de la R .: presidential libraries archive documents and objects of presidents and their administrations for the purpose of public study and debate).
That is a really interesting question, because these museums tend to become research centers and the committees that run them seek to have them as consultation centers. So I imagine that Trump's presidential library would evolve into a research center dedicated to failed presidencies and America's flirtation with authoritarianism. But maybe not immediately, but long after Trump leaves. I really don't know what could be put in a museum or library dedicated to Donald Trump.
To what extent do lawsuits and criminal investigations put Trump at risk?
Trump has been a legal Houdini his entire life. He has managed to sneak out of the proceedings and pay as little as possible on settlements when he has been caught. And his finances are so mysterious that it is difficult to determine what matters to him and what doesn't. He fights for surprisingly small amounts of money and you think what he is claiming is 10 billion dollars. But I know that he's doing everything he can to get rid of $ 50,000 out of a 100 million total settlement.
Will he try to run against Biden again in the 2024 presidential election?
I think he might decide that he has more power outside of Washington than going back there. His ego might lead her to consider the possibility, but I don't think he will. He may be happier in a studio, making public appearances and forming a platform of his own that can survive and give positions of great influence and presence to his children.
