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If past is prologue, this won't be pretty By Chris Honoré Dec 09, 2019 12:00 AM A A In my last column I shared my dark fantasy of Donald Trump sitting behind the Oval Office Resolute desk, staring off into the distance, unwilling to fully grasp the results of the 2020 election from the night before. His denial unshakable, he tells anyone who will listen that it was a scam, a hoax, rigged by the Democrats and the Deep State. What takes place in the days that follow the election, officially referred to as “the transition,” is the stuff of a Quentin Tarantino movie script. Pure drama. Think of it as the long, brittle denouement to a norm-shattering presidency known for its trash-talking rally rants, ubiquitous tweets, unending scandals and investigations, all laced together with decoder ring conspiracies, the salacious Steele Dossier, a DNC server hidden in a deep closet in Ukraine, and a syndicate of dirt-seeking capos working for the White House. But just when the word “surreal” begins to demand equal time regarding Trump’s anticipated, breathtaking departure from the White House and going gently into that good D.C. night, there’s this Trump reminder, lifted from a March, 2019, Breitbart News report: “I can tell you. I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of Bikers for Trump. I have tough people, but they don’t play it tough until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad. Very bad.” From what view of the world does such ideation spring? What nighttime reverie conjures such a description? Know that this chilling comment is not a one-off. Recall that Trump has waxed poetic when referring to China’s Xi Jinping, saying in a speech at Mar-a-Lago in 2018, “He’s now president for life. President for life. No, he’s great. And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday.” At a rally early this year he said, “They’re so lucky that we’re peaceful. Law enforcement, military, construction workers, Bikers for Trump — how about Bikers for Trump. They travel all over the country ... They’ve been great. But these are tough people. These are great people. But they’re peaceful people and “antifa” and all — they’d better hope they stay that way. I hope they stay that way.” While speaking to Republican members of Congress, Trump referred to his previous comments about extending his term of office from eight years to ten or perhaps twelve: When I mention this, “the papers start saying, ‘He’s got despotic tendencies.’ No, I’m not looking to do it. Unless you want to do it. That’s OK.” Which brings us to impeachment, which represents for Trump a daily reminder that his presidency, while not dangling by a thread given the posture of the Republicans, will be subjected to a trial (the antithesis of an extended term in office), the focus of which will be “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Know that though Trump has tweeted that he is eager to begin the Senate trial, which he claims will be “fair” (meaning the jury’s verdict is already in). I would speculate that from the moment the indictment is delivered to the Senate, there will be a dumpster fire of vitriol from an enraged, reactionary Trump. Meanwhile the nation will watch and wait. Supreme Court Justice Roberts will preside; Senators will act as jurors. Trump will be acquitted (all evidence to the contrary) and the Republicans in both chambers will righteously insist that the Democrats simply did not have enough probative evidence. And so the Republicans will snatch victory from the jaws of a preordained outcome, and declare that all of it was a put up job – no collusion, no obstruction, not in the Mueller Report and not now in this “quid pro quo” impeachment. Innocent. Vindicated. Faux malefactions all. And now onward to the 2020 election. Chris Honoré is an Ashland Tidings columnist. abstract blue glow glittering particles bokeh sparkle effect, event festive holiday happy new year concept