In less than two weeks, the moving trucks will come rumbling through downtown Washington, returning Donald Trump and his traveling circus to the White House. With a vengeful MAGA king vowing to barrel in and bust up the joint — Washington, not the White House — people keep asking if I am dreading the next four years.
Meh. It’s not really dread so much as weariness, mixed with a vaguely morbid curiosity. Like: We’re gonna do this again? Really?
A new president always brings a new vibe to official Washington, overhauling the players and the playing field, from appointees and lobbyists to social arbiters and hot restaurants. Washington is used to this kind of churn. Built for it, even. As presidents come and go, the so-called permanent political class adapts and abides and even absorbs new members. A chunk of appointees from the outgoing team slide into law and consulting firms around town, posts that are cushier and more lucrative, if not as influential as their government jobs. Others dabble in academia or become talking heads. And everyone basically hunkers down waiting for the wheel of fortune to turn again. The process has a rhythm to it, and, after you watch a few rounds, can start to feel like a perpetual game of musical chairs.
I realize that Trump is in many ways different from other presidents. Eternally aggrieved, he is spoiling for a fight with the “deep state,” the political establishment — really, any piece of the federal government or official Washington not solely devoted to fulfilling his every fancy. Things around town could get extra ugly in the coming months.
That said, at least this time we have some idea of what to expect. Sure, since the last go-round, Trump and his entourage have acquired more experience and knowledge of how to manipulate, or break, the system. There is much to be anxious about. But like any sequel, this one will be derivative. The explosions may be louder, the body count higher, the plot twists more outrageous, but the spectacle will not be the fresh shock to the system his first term was.
We are, if not entirely prepared, at least braced. And those tasked with holding Trump accountable — or at least reining in his most grotesque impulses (think: Matt Gaetz as attorney general) — have hopefully learned a few new tricks as well.
And who knows? There’s always the outside chance it won’t be a total nightmare. Having won the popular vote, having proved his first win wasn’t merely some Russia-fueled fluke, Trump might decide to waste less time on petty vendettas and shock politics. A pessimist by nature, I’m not holding my breath. But with this guy, you learn never to say never.
Either way, for Washington, as for the rest of the nation, this too shall pass — albeit perhaps slowly and painfully, like a kidney stone.
