[pshin45]

I see Donald Trump running for president as being nothing more than a glorified PR campaign to build his own brand. I don't think he even cares if he wins or loses, and I think it's possible he might not even accept the presidency if he were to win it as it's not worth the headache - He's a businessman first and foremost whose primary interest is in amassing wealth.

However, I do think there is one "side benefit" to his absurd, self-serving presidential campaign, and that is he is making a mockery of the US's political process and pushing it to its logical extremes, which I think is long overdue. A good democratic process should be able to prevent potential fascists from gaining power, and the fact that Trump even got this far shows the deficiencies of the system and that it needs reform. There is literally nothing stopping popular and influential celebrities like Kanye West and Kim Kardashian from running for president and winning. In fact, they've even announced their intentions to do so[1].

I'd argue that, ironically, Trump is achieving the same ends that Larry Lessig[2] hoped to achieve, albeit through very different means.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9x92nwGf_M

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Lessig_presidential_c...

[af16090]

I think Trump may have started out with the plan to run for the publicity and to promote his brand but at this point I think he really wants to win the presidency. At this point in his life he has enough money that an extra couple billion won't do much to change his lifestyle or legacy.

But if he were to become president, he would be only the 44th person to be president, would have a definite mark on history, etc. For someone who puts his name up on the buildings he builds, I think the legacy and fame aspect of the presidency would be more attractive that whatever money he would make by forgoing the presidency and continuing in business.

Edit: There have been 44 presidencies, 43 presidents