Donald Trump begins openly fantasizing about the south of France as it all falls apart for him
If you really want to figure out whether someone has any hope or any fight left in them, just take a look at whether they’re focused on real things that can actually improve their situation, or whether they’re focused on magic rescue fantasies that merely serve to help them feel better about their downfall.
For awhile I’ve been pointing out that nearly all of Donald Trump’s focus has been on magic rescue fantasies. He’s not taking any realistic steps to try to win any of his upcoming criminal trials. Instead he’s just fantasizing out loud about how he’s going to be able to magically make it all go away.
To that end, Trump’s obsession with magic rescue fantasies came even further into focus today when he said during a speech that he could be relaxing in “the south of France” if not for his legal troubles. In other words, Trump has reached the “I wish I could just run away from my life and chill on a beach all day” stage of his downfall. It’s what people resort to when they have absolutely no hope that their current life situation is going to work out satisfactorily for them.
I know that some of you have already long ago decided that Trump is going to end up fleeing the country, and I can see on social media that you’ve already decided that Trump’s “south of France” remark means he’s planning to flee there. And I understand why you’re coming away with this take.
But keep in mind that when people are planning to flee the country to avoid prosecution, they don’t publicly talk about fleeing the country. The success of such a plan is directly dependent upon not publicly announcing it in advance. When people are talking in public about fleeing the country, it’s a sign that they wish they could, but they’ve concluded that they can’t pull it off.
Donald Trump knows that his life, as he knows it, is over. He knows he’s out of options. He knows he can’t beat the rap, or else he’d be focused on trying to beat it. He knows he’s far too public of a figure, and would be far too high priority of a fugitive, to get away with fleeing the country. This is simply a guy who’s reduced to fantasizing out loud about relaxing on a beach somewhere for the rest of his life, as a way of shielding himself psychologically from the fact that it’s all over for him.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report