Lame duck president definition6/22/2023 ![]() Illegal use of the presidential brand.Chances of this happening: Extremely high. Whether actions taken by President Trump provide an immediate financial return or simply seed massive fields to be harvested at a later date, it is hard to imagine a scenario where he would not act to enrich himself. One who will surely leverage his term as president of the United States for future personal and family business dealings as opposed to retirement and book writing will have a lot of opportunities to do favors over the coming weeks. Even a lame-duck president has a massive residue of power. If pardons seem irresistible, just look at self-enrichment. Every pardon has the potential to translate into post-presidential profit for the president and the Trump family. ![]() Pardons, while occasionally ideological, are fine political currency. With such a high bar to clear, could President Trump do it? Absolutely. Also of note, those 300 Obama pardons are 292 more than he made during the first seven years and 10 months of his presidency. Of the past 10 presidents, the 300 Obama pardons from the 2016 election until he left office are eight times the number of pardons of the second-highest finisher. Of course, surpassing former President Obama in this area is going to take some work and a lot of pen refills. Chances of this happening: Low to moderate. More practically, perhaps it would be the repayment of personal and political favors to foreign governments by assisting in coups, missions, and the like. Perhaps it would be to exit as the only lame-duck president to save the United States from destruction by a foreign adversary. While this is possible to do, the advantage for President Trump is difficult to comprehend. ![]() The Transition Integrity Project refers to this as the Wag the Dog scenario.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |