Feb.28

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Looking Forward to 2024, Part IV: Reader Predictions, Donald Trump Edition

We are back in the groove, predictions-wise. Here are the three items we've run so far:

• Looking Forward to 2024, Part I: Pundit Predictions
• Looking Forward to 2024, Part II: Our Predictions
• Looking Forward to 2024, Part III: Reader Predictions, Joe Biden Edition

And now, here are 10 predictions about Donald Trump:

1. A.T.S. in Brooklyn, NY: Donald Trump will flee to Russia after losing the election to avoid prison. (Potential Bonus Points: 79)
   
   
2. D.J.M. in Salmon Arm, BC, Canada: Amid a chaotic fallout from his legal problems, Trump will name his son Donald Jr. as his VP running mate. (Potential Bonus Points: 84)
   
   
3. C.P. in Malden, MA: Trump will be convicted in at least one criminal trial before the November election. (Potential Bonus Points: 28)
   
   
4. F.W. in Decatur, GA: Trump will announce a slate of VP candidates, at least three and probably as many as five, and then at intervals he will fire one until only one remains at the time of the convention. This will give him tons of free media coverage, multiple attack dogs in the field at the same time, thrill his base, and, most importantly, stoke his ego. The sad part is that he will have no shortage of spineless candidates willing to humiliate themselves this way. (Potential Bonus Points: 62)
   
   
5. J.K. in Boston, MA: Trump will suffer a minor stroke that will affect his speech but leave what's left of his cognitive ability more or less intact. Because of his fear of looking weak, he will withdraw from rallies and public events, getting surrogates out on the stump and TRUTHing furiously so it looks like there's no problem. Democrats will point out this absence, Republicans will shame them for conspiracy-mongering, and Trump will win several states and ALMOST win the election despite (because of?) not being present from the convention to the election. (Potential Bonus Points: 74)
   
   
6. J.K. in Greensburg, PA: Trump will die from natural causes in 2024. The major media outlets will report it accurately—even Fox—but Trump's supporters will believe his death was suspicious and blame Democrats. There will be violent protests by the MAGAs as a result. (Potential Bonus Points: 80)
   
   
7. D.G.H. in Barnegat, NJ: It will be revealed that Jack Smith employed professional plumbers to recover top secret documents that Trump flushed down the toilet. (Potential Bonus Points: 88)
   
   
8. T.J.R. in Metuchen, NJ: After he loses in November, Donald Trump will be forced to file for bankruptcy. (Potential Bonus Points: 37)
   
   
9. G.M. in Laurence Harbor, NJ: After securing the nomination, Donald Trump will make another mysterious visit to Walter Reed Army Hospital and the reason will be just as secretive as the last time. It will be for respiratory problems caused by Long COVID. He will be given medications which will make his campaign appearances loonier than usual. Leaks will reveal that he wears diapers because of, well, leaks. (Potential Bonus Points: 75)
   
   
10. D.M. in Wimberley, TX: Trump's increasingly blatant racism and general venality cost him too many undecideds to be viable. The base is not enough to win. (Potential Bonus Points: 21)

When we first read the prediction from D.G.H. in Barnegat, we originally thought of Nixon-style plumbers, which is quite the mental picture. But we think D.G.H. meant actual plumbers.

Anyhow, if the readers go 10-for-10, then they'll earn 1,000 points for 10 correct predictions, along with 628 bonus points for degree of difficulty. On Friday, we'll have predictions about the actual elections. (Z)