President Donald Trump’s sudden death in office would transform him into an “iconic historic figure” and usher in a moment in which “history starts over again,” his longtime biographer says.
“If he died suddenly and in office, that might well transform Donald Trump into an iconic historic figure,” Michael Wolff tells the Inside Trump’s Head podcast.
Wolff said the rapidly aging president, who turned 80 last month and was dozing off at Lindsey Graham’s funeral on Tuesday, likely believes he will survive his second term. He said Trump is “no doubt” plotting how to continue being “the dominant figure in American politics” from Mar-a-Lago.
Co-host Joanna Coles pointed to journalist and author Kurt Andersen’s forthcoming novel, The Breakup, in which Trump dies of a stroke on his 89th birthday, triggering a terrorist uprising by supporters who believe he was the victim of a “deep-state assassination.”
However, Wolff said he doesn’t believe the post-Trump future will unfold that way.
“I actually disagree with Kurt. It’s like when you remove any dominant figure, dictators. I think people breathe a big sigh of relief,” Wolff said. “I think it’s like the world clears, and with Trump, the quiet will be extraordinary. People will breathe again.”
He added, “History starts over again.”
Coles theorized that Vice President JD Vance, who would assume the presidency, is “thinking a lot about Donald Trump’s death.”
Wolff added, “That’s such an interesting thing about vice presidents because, you know, they live for the death of the president, but they can’t think about that. I mean, they certainly can’t give any intimation that they are thinking about it.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, the oldest man ever inaugurated president, has become preoccupied with his own mortality in his second term, repeatedly wondering out loud about whether he will make it to Heaven or not.
“I hope to make it,” he said at a rally in February. “But I doubt I will, to be honest with you. A lot of you will. I’m not so sure.”
The octogenarian president first began musing about “heaven” publicly last summer, shortly after the White House disclosed that he had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which makes it difficult for blood to return from the lower extremities to the heart and results in swollen ankles.
Speaking on The Daily Beast Podcast on Monday, political analyst David Rothkopf said that Trump is trying to “memorialize himself everywhere he looks.” The president has pursued numerous personal legacy projects during his second term, including building a $400 million ballroom and a $100 million triumphal arch, as well as attempting to put his name on the Kennedy Center.
“You know, he’s hearing the footsteps of the Grim Reaper in the background,” Rothkopf said.
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