I don't see any way Trump will be prosecuted other than in the court of public opinion and I think he is too teflon even for that to matter to him. It matters to the larger GOP and specifically Congress as the BBB gave them one black eye and they don't need another punch landed in advance of the 2026 mid terms.

Trump served his purpose. He got the Big Beautiful giveaway to billionaires through Congress by using bribery and extortion.

I think the plan by Thiel and Vance's handler's was always to usher Trump out of the way after he completed his usefulness to them. I imagine that Putin and others have plenty on dirt on Vance (it's pretty easy to guess what it might be; he's led a life full of u-turns and new identities to fit the moment).

I fear Vance even more than I fear Trump. Vance is young, energetic, calculating and completely sociopathic.

Our only hope is that MAGA will reject him and the Republicans, giving us a majority in both houses of Congress. I think that outcome is remote but it's literally our only hope.

Vance will never have the cult appeal of Donald Trump and as president, the Poster Children of the Uber Wealthy will get blamed as the Republican "Big Turd of a Bill" starts to cause real pain.

A rebranding that lasted all of 79 days one fine eighties summer.

Without Trump, Republican lawmakers will not be terrified of offending The Base. Vance is a figure of ridicule; Johnson is a whiney little churchy-boy. Neither of them has Trump's charisma or his bluster. I think some Senators might re-grow a spine if Trump's not in office--they're terrified of him. Hard to imagine anyone quaking in their boots over threats from Vance or Johnson.

Won't hold them together long