First, it's damned silly. Of course he wants it. But he is an exemplar of the Dunning-Kruger effect, so it really doesn't matter.

Of course, one can also read John Dean's iconic and intelligent book Conservatives Without Conscience for yet another view on these evil mother fuckers, the authoritarians.

Both have supporting research.

He will plunge into the pits of Hell before he quits. Unfortunately for him he won't know he's doing it.

He doesn't want the job that he'd get if elected.

Being POTUS was never the end game. I don't think even he ever envisioned getting this far.

The Republicans are being played. Trump knows he's not electable, and has ensured his unelectability with every statement, every speech, every tweet. I'm sure he is enjoying watching the GOP scrambling to undo the damage he's doing on a daily basis. It's like a spoiled, self-centered child laughing at his parents cleaning up his messes, attempting to explain away his outrageous behaviour, trying to find excuses for his tantrums.

For someone like Trump, that's the ultimate reality show.

But until I see his tax returns, I can't buy this. Yes, he is a narcissist, no question. But why run for POTUS? Too much headaches, too lttle ROI, The only reason to run, IMHO, is if there was a compelling reason to run.

*His campaign manager is a bigtime operative for Putin and his Ukraine stratergy.
*Trump needed cash investments....could not get from US banks, but Russians had plenty to invest in him.
*Trump team changes platform on US response to Russian aggression in the Ukraine.
*Trump abandons US position on NATO.

We really need to see his tax returns and Rusxian investments in his business. There may be compeling reasons why Don Trump is running for POTUS....and it has nothing to do with making America great again.

... that Trump would love to wield presidential powers - a lot of us would. But I don't think he wants the actual job that would put those powers in his hands.

Trump may play the fool - but that doesn't mean he's stupid. He's not. It means he's playing a part - to what end is anyone's guess, and can be speculated about from now until November.

The point is that he is - on a daily, even an hourly basis - doing and saying things that are losing potential voters. And he keeps ramping-up the rhetoric that he knows is turning voters off.

He started by insulting minorities, immigrants, women - which actually appealed to many bigoted, racist and misogynistic Republicans. But instead of limiting his insults to those groups who had certain voters agreeing with him, he keeps expanding his repertoire to include people/groups who he knows
will cause voters to turn on him.

A Gold Star family? Mothers and babies? Purple heart recipients? Doubling down when the inevitable backlash comes, instead of insisting that he's been misunderstood, or is being taken out of context?

No. This isn't a man who's playing to win. This is a man who is playing to lose, and is consistently doing/saying things that he knows will lead to that loss.

Had he wanted to be POTUS, he's smart enough to have played this game very differently - and would have.

but he's not stupid.

He wants out. My worry is that he will get his wish. Our best scenario is that republicans are so craven that they will hang on to him, afraid of the white-nation backlash, until he actually loses in November. If we Democrats can stop squabbling and shooting ourselves in the foot, we could pick up seats in Congress and begin a progressive era. But, I don't think there is anything trump wouldn't do to get out. Let's see. Grabbing his daughter's ass on stage. No. He's done that. Attack military heroes. No He's done that. Partner with Russia against our allies. No. He's done that. I guess our saving grace is the virulent racism, misogyny, and xenophobia of his base. They will ignore anything he does and keep him in the running. Now, if he were smart, he would start funding abortion clinics, proposition Oprah from the campaign stage, and have his wife and daughter start wearing a hijab.