The Arc of Trumpism Bends Towards Jonestown

Why Laura Loomer has risen to the top

As of a few days ago, Polymarket gave a 3-4% chance that there would be evidence confirming that Trump and Laura Loomer were having an affair by September 20. We are now three days away, and the probability is down to 1%. This is about as close to a sure thing as you’re going to get, and if you have enough money lying around to make it worth it and want a small risk-free return in a few days, I’d suggest betting. The evidence for the affair so far is pictures like this, and though I think it is possible they’re having intimate relations, the odds of either one confessing to the fact by Friday are astronomically low.

Nonetheless, besides providing a chance for prurient speculation, the rise of Loomer within Trump’s orbit reveals something about the arc of Trumpism more generally that is worth thinking about and can provide insights into how he would govern in a second term, along with what the ultimate outcome of all this madness will be.

The key to understanding Trump is that he’s an egomaniac who can’t help but make everything about himself. Now this is not an original theory, but there haven’t been many analyses about what this means as his world gets crazier over time and we are headed towards a possible second term that would be more unhinged than the first. Not only is Trump an egomaniac, but he doesn’t have the self-awareness or self-control to even pretend otherwise. This was why he’s been attacking Taylor Swift, and the reason Kamala was able to so easily bait him into ranting about nonsense during the debate.