Former President Donald Trump, despite his competitive performance in general election polls right now, doesn't have a serious path back to the Oval Office, argued columnist Brian Karem for Salon — in fact, he said, Trump is secretly "afraid" of rematching President Joe Biden.
One reason for that is that he has simply made too many enemies to get the level of support necessary, he said.
"There are Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who want to make sure Trump never comes back to power," wrote Karem.
"It isn’t, as Trump claims, because he’s been 'hounded by political wolves.' It is merely that Trump is a truly loathsome human being. He has no class, no tolerance, nothing of joy is derived by him unless it is at the expense of others. Those who’ve had the misfortune of being associated with him in anything from friendship to kinship end up grease for the engine, grist for the mill, and are run over by the Trump bus."
The former president has a number of other obstacles facing his re-election as well, including four criminal indictments in various legal jurisdictions, at least some of which could lead to a conviction before the GOP even hosts its convention next year.
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To be clear, Karem has some reservations about President Joe Biden running again as well, and where his presidency even goes from here: "The question is, can Biden energize the rest of the country out of their stupor and vote next year?" he wrote. "I understand Biden’s belief that he should run again, but I’m really concerned about the future of both parties. What in the Hell happens even two years from now? Who is the future for the Democrats and Republicans?"
But ultimately, he wrote, none of the other people trying to run, in either party or out of them, has a shot at beating Trump. "Biden has the edge, not only because he’s more healthy, but also because he’s not mentally compromised like Donald Trump. Each week Trump exposes his lunacy even more because his many criminal charges are scaring him straight into oblivion," he wrote. And although the situation could change, for the time being "I believe Trump is destined to fail ... [and] right now, the only declared candidate who can do the job is Joe Biden."
