Will Donald Trump run for president again?
Well, he has pretty much been telling people that the only thing that could keep him from a third run for the White House would be health problems.
Since he’s morbidly obese and will be 78 years old in 2024, my guess is it’s less than a 50-50 chance he’ll be in the running.
It’s not that his followers wouldn’t support him, and it’s quite scary to look at all the laws in various states Republicans are enacting to make it more difficult for Democrats to vote.
But in addition to age and health problems, there’s also what I’d call the Huey Long Factor.
If you’ve seen “All the King’s Men,” either the Broderick Crawford version or the Sean Penn one, you’ve seen the story of Louisiana politician Willie Stark, a fictionalized version of 1930s politician Long. Long served as governor of Louisiana and then as a senator from Louisiana, and he quite probably would have run for president in 1936.
In fact, Franklin Roosevelt said the only person he feared might give him a bad time for re-election was Long, who was the epitome of a Southern populist. His slogan “Every Man a King” was the MAGA of its day, but Long really accomplished important things for the working poor in Louisiana during the Great Depression.
He paved roads, got textbooks for the schools and built hospitals.
But at the same time, his term as governor made him maybe the closest thing in the country to an American dictator.
But Long never made it to 1936. In September 1935, the Kingfish was shot and killed at the state capitol building in Baton Rouge by the son in law of a judge Long was trying to redistrict out of a job.
In the end, autocrats always make enemies.
Word was that when Long was on the floor of the capitol, mortally wounded, he asked his bodyguards who the shooter was and why he would want to shoot him.
I’m certainly not saying someone should shoot Trump, although I’ve always thought it interesting that his favorite Bible verse is about taking an eye for an eye. The verse that seems appropriate to me is Matthew 26:52, the one about living by the sword and dying by the sword.
Long was just 42 when he died. He had a big future in front of him. Whether or not anything happens to Trump, his best days are behind him.
I would be very surprised if he were the nominee in 2024 and shocked if he ever returns to the White House.
His time has passed.