It is now a given, they say. No longer if, but when. In the media and among those who know, or who claim to, it is clear. Donald Trump is back, or about to be as a presidential candidate. Brace yourselves.
Millions see him as a thwarted redeemer and yearn for a second coming. Like messiahs before him from Skywalker to Moses, he may still be wrestling with his fate.
He risks being rejected twice. A sobering prospect for someone who says he hates losers. But the faithful, or many of them, have decided.
On Fox News, talk radio and even at a fundraising event he himself attended, Donald Trump has been told. Act now – there won’t be a better moment.
The clamour started to build with the anger caused by FBI agents searching Mr Trump’s Florida estate at Mar-a-Lago. Even his Republican rivals fell in line spouting outrage against the Feds.
But the landslide victory of a Trump candidate in Wyoming over his biggest victim yet has brought things to a head.
Now is the time many believe for Trump to declare his candidacy.
Legal documents supporting FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate could be released
Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Social surges in popularity after FBI raid his home
Republican Liz Cheney loses Wyoming seat to Trump-backed candidate
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Liz Cheney ‘thinking about’ presidential run in bid to block return of Donald Trump
Donald Trump being investigated under Espionage Act, with ‘top secret’ documents taken from his Florida home
The decisive victory of a Trump candidate over Liz Cheney has huge symbolism. From Dick, the former vice president, to Liz, the Cheney brand was everything the Republicans used to stand for. But none of that counted. His victory in Wyoming has cemented Mr Trump’s grip on the party.
It is for all the same reasons as before. He is the non-politician finally taking on Washington and enraging its political and media elites, draining the swamp and so on.
Billionaire con trick on the masses, or not, his pitch works and it raises millions. His “persecution” by those elites, as supporters see it, only strengthens him politically. He has pulled in millions off the back of that FBI raid alone.
One reason those millions despise Washington and its elites can be traced back to the sins of Liz Cheney’s father. Vice president Dick Cheney helped lead America to war in Iraq on false premises costing America lives and billions, not to mention enormous damage to its power and prestige.
More than one observer has pointed out the irony of her position. The daughter of a man accused of pushing one big lie, has fought to refute another, Donald Trump’s claim he won the last election and she has now been punished for it.
Liz Cheney may say she is not going away. She has vowed to continue her crusade against Mr Trump.
Supporters wishfully compare her with another Star Wars Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi who told Darth Vader he could kill him but it would only make him stronger.
It is hard to see how that metaphor holds politically in the immediate term at least.
Ms Cheney’s pursuit of Mr Trump seems to have little electoral appeal where it counts, if Wyoming is anything to go by. But she will remain a powerful antagonist to Mr Trump, goading him on and that could make his candidacy more likely as he seeks to render her efforts futile.
What does this mean for America as it heads towards the midterm elections with one of its two major parties completely in the thrall of one man, a “personality cult” as one group of anti-Trump Republicans put it this week?
In Wyoming, Mr Trump’s increasing power has led to spectacular success but it may not in other races.
Mr Trump’s grip means extreme candidates are being selected to run elsewhere. Conspiracy theorists who believe the QAnon nonsense America is run by paedophiles for instance. Latest figures suggest several of them are struggling in the polls and observers say that could endanger the party’s chances of winning back the Senate.
None of that is likely to deter Mr Trump though. No one dares stand up to him.
He still seems to understand the voters better than the rest of his party and retains the power to make and destroy careers.
Mr Trump’s legal jeopardy is mounting. Prosecutors continue gathering evidence. He is now being investigated under the Espionage Act.
That may spur him on in the belief running for the White House will make it more challenging to charge him. If he is indicted it promises to be the mother of all legal, political and constitutional crises.
Prepare yourself. If you thought Trump, the first coming was crazy enough, just wait for the sequel.
