Donald Trump Is Running For President Again. Washington Would Be Wise To Remember 2016

Former President Donald Trump launched a third consecutive bid for the White House on Tuesday night, hoping to go 2-1 in his battle for the Oval Office — or, in his eyes, 3 and 0.

“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump said. “This will not be my campaign. This will be our campaign all together. Because the only force strong enough to defeat the massive corruption we are up against is you, the American people.”

Two weeks ago, Trump’s re-ascension to the Republican nomination seemed almost inevitable. He has led in every single poll taken for the contest, leading all but one by double digits. He’s also running with a loaded war chest of $100 million to dump into the race, and he’s remained the most popular Republican in the country with favorability ratings higher than members of GOP congressional leadership.

“I think Trump sucks up all the energy in every room, no matter what,” Megyn Kelly said on Dave Rubin’s show at the end of October. Kelly claimed that not even “someone as skilled as a politician and smart policy-wise” as the current top-performing Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, could “overcome that.”

In 2015 and 2016, that’s exactly what Trump did despite being written off by nearly every establishment figure in Washington. Then the novice politician with a background in television and corporate real estate and no experience running for office began the race at the center of every debate stage except one he refused to attend.

The brash TV celebrity was a gold mine for ratings. He drove viewers to cable news and even boosted “Saturday Night Live’s” numbers to their highest in years. Trump earned more coverage than every other candidate, which never mattered if it was negative — and it remained negative through his administration.

His base, energized by this new brand of conservative populism finally coming to fruition, stayed with him. His support rarely ever dropped below 30 percent. He became the most popular Republican in the country, and he led nearly every single poll throughout the race.

At an August 2015 campaign stop in Iowa, former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, whose struggling presidential effort never made it to the caucuses, became vocally frustrated.

“I realize that the best way to make news is to mention Donald Trump. That’s the gold standard for making news these days,” Jindal said. “So, I’ve decided to randomly put his name into my remarks at various points, thereby ensuring that the news media will cover what I have to say.”

A year later, Trump won the Republican nomination and then the White House in a political earthquake.

Last Tuesday, however, Trump’s fortunes for a two-term presidency began to sour, with establishment figures again ready to write him off.

On the morning after the midterms, CNBC ran the headline, “Trump’s favorite candidates disappoint on Election Day,

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