DONALD WHO?:

In December 2020, I wrote a column noting that Trump belongs to a long line of politicians who have used appeals similar to his to rise to prominence. At the malevolent end this includes figures like Joseph McCarthy and George Wallace; at the benign end it includes figures like Ross Perot. All of them struck themes similar to the ones that vaulted Trump to power -- that America is facing decline because of the duplicity and cravenness of political elites, arguments often laced with xenophobia. All of them for a time vaulted to prominence as the tribune of ordinary Americans disgusted with conventional politics. All of them tried comebacks once their period of peak power waned. None of them succeeded. Trump is unique in that he rode his populist appeal all the way to the presidency. He's already surprised me with how much relevance he continues to hold. But nothing in history suggests that he can retain this influence all the way to 2024.

"Every hero becomes a bore at last," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson -- and he might have added that they become a phony, as well.

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