'Worst case': Conservative worried Trump does not intend 'to ever vacate the White House'

27 August

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

One conservative journalist recently laid out his case for why he believes President Donald Trump will continue to entrench himself in the Oval Office in spite of the Constitution — and with the blessing of the other two branches of government.

In a Wednesday essay for anti-Trump conservative website The Bulwark, editor Jonathan V. Last laid out a bleak picture for readers about both the power and influence Trump is wielding in his second term and the complicity of both the government itself and the electorate. Last pointed to "the pace at which we are moving" and "how Trump employs a mix of the ridiculous and the dangerous" to illustrate his point that Trump has already assumed a significant level of control over both politics and even culture that previous presidents have never had.

"He is the living embodiment of the leviathan, the totalized state," Last wrote of Trump. "No sector of American life exists beyond the reach of this president. There is no private sphere or civil society he feels should be outside his influence or control. There is only the dear leader, whose views must be considered in all matters."

Last observed several key differences between Trump's first term and his current administration. Namely, that he has "learned to operate outside the world of legislation and purely through executive power," and that his White House is "staffed with button-men who are willing to do whatever he demands, regardless of legality."

He also lamented that the private sector has "accepted subservience" that the GOP-controlled Congress "has also completely submitted" to Trump's will along with the American people. Last noted that polls today show Trump with a higher approval rating today (approximately 40 percent) than he enjoyed in August of 2017 (roughly 38 percent).

"The clear lesson is that a consistent share of about 44 percent of Americans want this," he wrote. "And [44 percent + dictatorial control of the government] should be enough to retain power for quite some time."

"I realize the last two weeks have seemed interminable. But you haven’t seen anything yet. We’ve got three and a half years left under the best-case scenario," he continued. "In the worst case our present condition will persist indefinitely. I keep saying this, but: Trump is not behaving like a man who intends to ever vacate the White House."

Click here to read Last's full essay in The Bulwark (subscription required).

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