Trump prepares his return
In early April, a Mexican tycoon travelled to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for a lunch meeting with Donald Trump. He was led to the dining room of the former president's mansion and had to wait twenty minutes until the host appeared. "Sorry, I was talking to Vladi and it took longer than planned." The visitor would spend part of the meeting trying to uncover whether that alleged call with Putin existed in reality or was a twisted fantasy, created only for the sake of looking important, a very typical characteristic of the former president.
The resort located minutes from Miami is becoming a center for American politics. Since Trump got there, security has been raised by the local sheriff, Secret Service agents have become a normal sight on Ocean Boulevard and prominent visitors dominate the community's daily life.
The cast is varied and call the attention of the public. Trump receives visits from prominent governors such as Ron De Santis, from Florida and Greg Abbot, from Texas, as well as radio host Laura Loomer, who calls for the expelling of all Muslims from the US, or former inmates such as Rod Blagojevich, who was a former governor of Illinois and spent 14 years in prison for corruption.
From Mar-to-Lago, the Trump wing is being organized within the Republican Party, which will be tested during next year's mid-election. The "spearhead" will be Ivanka Trump, who is getting prepared for an internal dwell against Senator Marco Rubio.
Privately, Trump calculates that, in a moderate scenario, he could have between 30 and 40 congressmen of his own in the House of Representatives. He has set up a fund to raise resources to fund campaigns that are currently at around U$ 120 million these days.
It is remarkable because this fundraising phenomenon coincides with a Trump figure that has reduced his level of exposure and engages in the building phase of his political space without too much public ostentation. His rivals allege that the retreat is due to fear of being incarcerated in the face of a series of lawsuits involving Trump.
He doesn't want to give up his place in the world. Sources say he is obsessed with the chances of Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin beating Andrew Cuomo, who has had hit credibility affected, at the elections for Governor of New York. That is Trump's state and he wants it to be Republican, even if he has to make a strong investment.
Trump is on the move and prepares to return to the election roll as Joe Biden's administration tries to return definitively to post-pandemic normality and revive the economy.
Economically, Biden's speech this week fuels Trump's narrative that the Democrats wanted to return to the White House to trigger public spending and stifle big fortunes. Recalling, during Barack Obama's first administration, Trump deviated from collaborating with the Democratic government on expansive spending policies led by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, similar to those discussed these days. That's what Obama said in his last book, A Promised Land.
Unlike other politicians who leave power, Trump doesn't have the slightest self-criticism and that characteristic is captured by those who engage with him. He reiterates time and time again that he would not change anything he did in his four years as President. He is convinced that his defeat was fraudulent and that this moment will help him to return stronger. He sees the present only as a parenthesis, taking place between the ocean, endless palm trees, golf courses and his untouched ambition to return to power.