Donald Trump doesn’t just want power—he wants permanence. The fantasy is not simply to win an election, but to end elections: to be the last president of the United States, etched forever as the figure who brought the curtain down on democracy.

Why seek to be the “last” president?

For ordinary politicians, legacy means libraries, foundations, or highways named in their honor. For Trump, legacy is more grandiose: a yearning to be remembered as the pivot point of American history. If democracy continues, his story will be one chapter among many. But if democracy ends with him, the book closes on his page. In a culture obsessed with fame, the most enduring immortality is to end the game while you’re still on the stage.

Authoritarians and immortality

History is full of leaders who tried to fuse their own name with the fate of the nation. Caesar declared himself dictator for life. Napoleon crowned himself emperor. In each case, dismantling democratic or republican structures was justified as “saving” the nation—while guaranteeing the ruler’s immortality in textbooks. Trump’s flirtations with “I deserve a third term” or “maybe we won’t have elections again” fit this same pattern: power not just for profit, but for permanence.

The incentives of spectacle politics

Trump is not a bureaucrat. He thrives on media, headlines, constant spectacle. But spectacle fades. To lock in relevance, he must transform political theater into historical rupture. Ending the presidency as an office would make Trump himself the brand of America’s last chapter. This is the dictator’s equivalent of retiring a jersey: no one else gets to wear the number after you.

Why this appeals to elites

Some ask: why would business elites or party insiders support an end to elections? The answer is short-term interest. Just as German industrialists saw Hitler as protection, or Chilean elites backed Pinochet, today’s wealthy classes may accept permanent Trump rule if it shields them from redistribution, regulation, or accountability. The bargain is always the same: sacrifice democracy, preserve wealth.

The recurring danger

• Charismatic leaders frame their personal survival as the nation’s survival.
• Elites trade democracy for the promise of protection.
• The public is sold on order, stability, or vengeance—at the cost of their own future voice.

When these dynamics align, democracy does not end with a bang but with a shrug—and a signature.

Closing thoughts

Trump doesn’t need to be compared to history’s monsters to be dangerous; he needs only to be understood as a man obsessed with his place in the timeline. For him, ending American democracy is not a byproduct—it is the point. To be the last president is to be remembered forever, the man who closed the book.

The real question isn’t whether he wants that glory—it’s whether we will let our fear, anger, or indifference write him into history as the final name on the list of presidents.