An idea to get Trump to resign without institutional crisis

I honestly stopped reading at 17 Republican Senators telling the President to resign, "or else." I would give that scenario about a 1% possibility of occurring (to be generous). How likely do you really see this? Would you not think-- since, if it were to happen, their names would certainly NOT remain a secret-- that it would take even MORE COURAGE, & BACKBONE, to do THIS, than to merely state, on the record, that they felt that Trump, "should go?" And even though that first step is, itself, less than even saying that they would, "vote to impeach President Trump," we only have two yeas & 1 maybe (if the House impeaches, he's willing to consider it: the kind of threat that sends a shiver all the way down to one's bones!). No offense, but I think this is a case of wishful thinking, on your part.

 

you're free not to participate in them

 

I’ve been on the outside looking in on this particular political fiasco since before the 2016 election. It’s quite obvious certain Trump supporters aren’t the only ones being taken for a ride. You are all on the same ride, just in different seats on the roller coaster train. When the ride ended this election, you didn’t leave the ride, you all just traded seats. In 2016 Trump supporters were in the front seats, holding their arms up and screaming with pleasure. You were in a back seats puking. Now you guys are moving to the front seats and the screamers are moving to the back. The ride will entertain you all again, up and down, around, and upside down. But this time you’ll be the ones screaming ecstatically and the ones in the back will be vomiting. And you’re all on the same ride, you all paid for the ride, and the carnival company doesn’t care if you are screaming or puking, they know you’ll pay up, switch seats, and ride again. Over and over and over.

I’m not hinting at anything. I’m saying you are being manipulated and used just like Trump supporters you think you abhor because they are different than you. They aren’t different. You all pay to ride the same ride.

 

Nice analogy.

 

Sorry. My bad. I’ll try to be more concise.

There is a (large in my opinion) segment of US society who would love for there to be violence at the inauguration. And they aren’t Trump supporters. I think these people need to be happy with what they got at the Capitol. If that isn’t enough to suit their purposes, we have a much more serious problem than nutty Trump supporters.

 

Trump has exposed significant flaws and this is what you offer?

 

Yes, It is excellent, unfortunately. The front car is worth the extra wait though, if you ever make it to King's Island and queue up to ride "The Beast."

 

This idea has already been bandied about many times.

Two things, Trump will never resign, it's not in his DNA. He still has quite a few followers whom many in the house, at least, fear his flock ( assuming he finds a twitter replacement, but if he doesn't, they will fear him less and less ). For now, he's not going to get much opposition from the right, though I believe, in time, his power will fade.

Why would Pence agree to becoming the president for one week? He'd be fodder for comedians for years to come ( more than he is already) let alone achieve equal pariah status for pardoning someone who has clearly committed sedition and felony murder.

 

Most excellent 557.

 

Dems need to stop with the resignation, 25th amendment & impeachment stuff. Whether justified or not, it accomplishes nothing but furthering the divide that is destroying the country

 

Your view is that of the text book cynic.

Sorry, that would not be me.

 

I’m not a cynic. I’m a realist.

You are moving to the front seats.

 

A house built on a weak foundation will always crumble.

In America, that foundation is justice.

Justice matters.

The house of Unity and Healing will just have to wait in line until the foundation of justice is done.

We are dealing with sedition by the President Of the United States. What message are we going to send to the world if he is not held accountable? Not rendering justice will weaken this nation in the eyes of the world, will embolden our enemies like no other act in history, save voting for the man in the first place.

Sorry.

 

Yes - but the divide that will continue to grow is going to destroy this country

Sometimes you need to sacrifice the battle to win the war.

 

Go ahead with the OP's plan then, but I doubt it.

 

No, healing, unity, all nice things, but they will just have to wait in line until
justice is done, and they can wait, and American can withstand the wait,
as we have endured four years of hell, and it's downhill from here. It will
get easier and easier. Moreover, a public trial of the president will reveal
to his 'flock' the truth of who this man really is. I would venture to say
that unity is impossible until justice is rendered.

Lowering America and emboldening our enemies is an unrecoverable fate.

Justice is a recoverable fate, and will prevent the above.

 

No, believing both sides are the same is the view of a cynic, and, in fact, it's nihilistic. apathetic. To say you are 'just being realistic' is your rationalization.

Sorry.

 

I'm torn on this.
Like you I abhor Trump and all he stands for. I too would like to see justice for his crimes against democracy but I also see that no matter how well intentioned his prosecution might be it will be perceived as revenge by not only his most rabid supporters but also some of the more moderate Republicans. I'm not a Democrat, I'm not even American. I try my hardest to be pragmatic rather than idealistic. Even though I'm a liberal with a small ''l'' and more inclined to lean left than right I recognise the need for a viable opposition to curb the excesses of the Democrat party so I don't want to see the Republican party weakened to the point of irrelevance.
I think 557 is probably right that it's time to get off the ride. I don't fear Trump going forward, he's a spent force with no chance of coming back from what happened at the Capitol so calming the frack down and letting him slink away to spend the rest of his life in and out of court for his other misdeeds is best for the US going forward.

 

If there were not great similarities you would not be on the same ride.

I’ve accepted reality and dealt with it by getting off the ride instead of switching seats.

Calling me a cynic for getting off the ride is your rationalization for staying on the ride yourself. I’m not at all nihilistic. The nihilist refuses to see value in getting off the ride. In contrast, I find great meaning and reward in pursuits outside the roller coaster car. The apathetic don’t have the drive or ambition to get off the ride. Getting off takes courage and belief in the existence of something better than a vomit-soaked seat.

If I was apathetic I wouldn’t encourage others to get off the ride. Far from apathetic, I’m passionate about encouraging others to think for themselves. I’m quite animated in my advocacy for self determination and the freedom critical thought can afford the individual.

 

I think you are overestimating Trump. I predict that his star will be dimming more and more. He will be whining and whining and being a one-trick pony "we wuz robbed" and his act will get old. Already his popularity has dropped dramatically after Wednesday. Next, you'll see Republicans progressively turning against him and undermining him, timidly at first, and more vigorously next, especially the ones with presidential aspirations - this will be also in function of the fact that big businesses and donors are dropping them by the minute, after last Wednesday, related to their support of Trump. He will also be tied up in lawsuits and prosecutorial action. Even if a deal like the one I proposed comes up, with a federal pardon, he is still vulnerable to prosecution by the State of New York. Popularity wise, even Bill Belichick has spoken against him and has declined the Medal of Freedom, quoting Wednesday. Trump is now a toxic element; he is turning into a pariah, and that's even before his term ends. Four years from now his influence will be greatly diminished.

Trump is also an old, obese man with shaky health (what was that visit to Walter Reed in the middle of the night, and the apparent transient lack of muscle control?) and a terrible diet, who has been hugely enraged and stressed out. That's a terrible combination. I see Trump's future as one of sharply declining health. Not that I desire this; as a physician I never want to see disease and death regardless of how despicable the patient is (others here may remember how I immediately suspended criticism and wished him a prompt recovery when he had Covid-19); it's just an observation that his lifestyle is not healthy and will take a toll.

 

Well, the scenario is one where this would remain secret. I agree that it is unlikely that it would be the case in real life, and then, the whole edifice of my scenario does crumble.
But I don't think it is as far-fetched as you say. Remember, on the record, with names attached to votes, the attempt to contest the Electoral College votes was only endorsed, ultimately, by 7 Republican senators. All the others voted against Trump's effort. This actually surprised me, that some 42 Republican senators (99 senators were in section since Perdue was no longer seated) would publicly vote against Trump. 42! When was the last time that we saw 42 Republican senators having the balls to vote against Trump? I do think that when confronted with the latest events, a lot of Republican senators changed their minds.

As for wishful thinking, no offense taken (especially, not from you, my friend) but I respectfully disagree, given that the above is not the scenario I'd like to see. What I'd like to see would be Trump impeached, then convicted by the Senate, a self-pardon being determined to be unconstitutional by the SCOTUS, and then found guilty/liable in a number of court procedures out there, to signal to future wannabe fascist dictators that America is still a democratic republic that upholds the Law.

My scenario above would actually be advantageous for Trump, and given that I've turned very much against Trump, it is not what I wish for; so, no wishful thinking. I'm just having fun exercising our hobby here, that is, posting about politics and thinking of all possible or impossible scenarios.

Like I said, "I'm just asking, do you all think that this Nixon approach would work, would be feasible, and would resolve the situation with a minimum of pain for all involved? Or not?"

So, I take your position as a vote for "or not". Fair enough. It's still fun to discuss it.

 

I'm offering this, among many other possibilities in other threads and posts of mine. It's just ONE exercise in imagination, and like I said above, not even the one I'd like to see happening.

 

I could see the spineless Pence getting entangled in a deal that would include a pardon. He is already making nice with Trump again, if you followed today's news. As for whether or not Pence would want to spend a week as president, if Trump suddenly resigned, it wouldn't be Pence's choice unless he resigned too, in which case the next in the line of succession would be Pelosi, who would LOVE to spend a week as president.

Now, the objection about Trump's DNA makes more sense. However, in my scenario, it would be a choice, for a narcissist, between claiming (falsely, but this has never stopped Trump) that "out of being so magnanimous and so patriotic, I'm resigning under my own terms; just taking a break of a few days to pacify the country; I'll be back in 2024" rather than "I'm the loser who lost the election, got impeached twice, convicted the second time, and lost my political rights to run again."

Remember, Trump has already read on teleprompter a contrite concession speech that was rumored to have been written by Pat Cipollone, who strong-armed him into reading it (at first he didn't want to) under the threat of charges of sedition. In that truly hostage video, the words and even the delivery were completely atypical of Trump, including, telling his followers that they don't represent the country and will have to pay for their actions.

If Trump can be strong-armed to read that hostage video, I don't think it is 100% excluded that he can be strong-armed to resign, if the end result is a face-saving alternative to being branded a much bigger loser.

 

I actually doubt it too. It's just fun to discuss it. I still think that the odds of it happening, although small, are not zero.

 

LOL, hilarious!