I thought Trump would go away in 2021. I was wrong.
![Donald Trump.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qBYpEgPCJqocJMJBhbaeMS-415-80.jpg)
For me, 2021 will always be the year Donald Trump didn't go away.
I had thought — and predicted — that shorn of office and social media access, the former president would be forced to give up the spotlight. And it's true that Trump is not as ubiquitous in our lives as he was a year ago: There are no more hour-long afternoon battles with the press, no more waking up and grabbing your phone to check out his latest inevitable provocation on Twitter. It's been a genuine relief not to think about Donald Trump all the time.
But he's still out there, lurking. Even if the spotlight no longer shines incessantly on Trump, it's never far away.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He sits for friendly interviews with Fox News on a regular basis. He still has the power to chase Republican members of Congress out of office. States that he won in 2020 are conducting audits of their elections at his behest. And he remains the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2024. We can't entirely turn our eyes from Trump, because he still matters.
Even in the unlikely event Trump goes away, though, it's clear that Trumpism is here to stay. You can see it in how the House GOP enforces lockstep loyalty to the party's leader, in how lower-tier Republican candidates are quick to make spurious charges of election fraud in campaigns they lose, in the party's revamping of the election process in red states, in the prominence of fringe figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and perhaps most clearly in the race-to-the-bottom antics of Senate candidates Josh Mandel and J.D. Vance in Ohio. There are still a few Republicans who believe that a post-Trump moment is coming, that their party will find its way back to some kind of normalcy. It's more likely Trumpism is the GOP's new normal.
All of this becomes more unsettling when you realize that the GOP's embrace of Trumpy tactics hasn't really damaged the party's chances of retaking power. It's basically a given that Republicans will take control of the House during the 2022 midterm elections, and 2024 might be bad for Democrats if President Biden's approval ratings don't pick up. The two Republican presidencies of the 21st century have ended in disaster, but American voters have short memories.
That means Trump doesn't have to go away; he just has to be patient. The spotlight will find him again sooner or later.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Why is China stockpiling resources?
The Explainer The superpower has been amassing huge reserves of commodities at great cost despite its economic downturn
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Tattoo prediction
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Why is China stockpiling resources?
The Explainer The superpower has been amassing huge reserves of commodities at great cost despite its economic downturn
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The GOP is Donald Trump Jr.'s party now
In The Spotlight The former president's gun-loving, live-streaming adult son has emerged as more than just his father's namesake — he's become a Republican powerhouse of his own
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
For God and country: is religion in politics making a comeback?
Talking Point There are many MPs of faith in the new Labour government despite it being the most openly secular House of Commons in history
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The attack on Donald Trump
Opinion We've seen this kind of shooter before
By Susan Caskie Published
-
74 things Donald Trump has said about women
Feature The former president has a long history of controversial remarks about the opposite sex
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
DHS opens review of Trump assassination attempt
Speed Read An independent panel will investigate the Secret Service's handling of the shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can Kamala Harris beat Trump?
Today's Big Question Some senior Democrats are unsure the vice-president can win in November even as party closes ranks behind her
By The Week UK Published