Why Is Trump Really Running Again?

I just posted a story about the crazy rant that Trump put out on Truth Social and X/Twitter and I’m not the only blogger who had something to say about how Trump wished the political opposition a good holiday in a way and a style which is never done.

The only problem with what I said, which was the usual narrative about how Trump just can’t stop using social media in the most profane, obnoxious, stupid, and threatening way, is that my perspective is only half-right. And now I’d like to explain the other half.

What made Trump different from virtually every other person who ever ran for President on the blue or red line, is that Trump saw politics as another market where he could build his brand, which is another way of saying that running for President was a way to make a buck.

In fact, Trump even said this very bluntly in an interview he gave early in the 2016 campaign. I can’t find the reference at the moment but basically he said he couldn’t believe how much money could be ‘made’ in politics — note the word ‘made.’

One of our leading academic experts on Fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat at NYU, has picked up on this issue but she defines Trump’s attempts to make money during the campaign as using donations to pay for services and events on properties that Trump owned.

That’s all fine and well, but that’s a rather indirect way to use a political campaign to make a buck. The much more effective way is to sell stuff that you own, like MAGA hats or MAGA…