Trump, in a word. Our overall Attention-Whore champion of 2023 repeated easily in 2024. Running for president, winning—getting shot at to boot—will do that. Bizarre discourses on “the late, great Hannibal Lecter” and the optimum way to die at sea (“Do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted, or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?”) apparently helped, as did a hate-filled, misogynistic, racist, altogether repugnant campaign that 49.8 percent of American voters either approved of or were happy to overlook. (Sorry, there is no third explanation.)
Even if Donald Trump had ended up politically marginalized, he’d have continued grandstanding and monetizing: maybe fleets of branded golf carts, keepsake locks of his hair, Trump Guitars, Trump Fragrance, Trump-Dancing with the Stars. Two of those items are already available.
