The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Trump is out for vengeance — and to protect himself from prosecution

Contributing columnist
November 15, 2022 at 9:28 p.m. EST
Former president Donald Trump speaks during the America First Policy Institute's America First Agenda Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 26. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
5 min

He was always going to run. Absent incarceration or interment, and perhaps only the latter, he inevitably would seek the presidency again. His narcissism, his megalomania, his delicate yet illimitable ego, would have it no other way.

Donald Trump craves the power. Even more, he craves the attention. And more than ever — after an unprecedented two impeachments, a humiliating reelection defeat that he can’t even admit, and amid multiple criminal investigations and civil suits — he seeks vengeance. The l’état c’est moi president who apparently tried to sic the IRS on his enemies (and perhaps succeeded), and who tried to extort Ukraine into smearing Joe Biden, can’t wait to get back on the job.