Five years ago, when Donald Trump came down the golden escalator to announce that he was going to run for President, most people laughed. It was indeed laughable then. He came down to call Mexicans rapists and criminals, and swore to build a big beautiful wall to keep them away. He went on to make so many gaffes that it became too difficult to take him seriously. And in the 2016, we were sure that he would lose and go on to set-up a Trump TV with Fox-on-steroids programs.

But, he won. Irrespective of how narrow the victory was, how fake news made people hate Hillary, and how he lost the popular vote, he won. He was made fun of, ridiculed, and was barely taken seriously. But, he won.

In a book called ‘Unbelievable’ that I read recently, Katy Tur says that the energy that Trump rallies had generated displayed a side of America which the mainstream news barely showed. For most media outlets, he was a reality show star that kept giving them all the entertainment, but nothing more. Even the polls could not register the wave that favoured his victory. With all these commentators seemingly lost in calling Trump a clown, they missed out on how smart he was all along. After the 2016 elections, laughing at Trump made me uncomfortable. Sure, the Late Night shows of Kimmel, Fallon, Colbert, Noah, etc. find all the funny in whatever he does, but is he really stupid? And if he is really as stupid as everyone says he is, how did he become the most powerful person in the world?

Some may say that those who back him – the 74 million that voted for him in 2020 – are as stupid as Trump. Hillary, in 2016, made the mistake of calling them ‘deplorables’, a remark which Trump used to show her condescension and attack her for denigrating his followers. While some surely maybe of lower intelligence, it is indeed a gross miscalculation to assume that all his followers lack sensibilities.

Trump, however, is a smart man. He may not be the most creative or have emotional intelligence, but he is freaking intelligent. The façade which makes him look ‘stupid’ works efficiently in his favour. He has a brilliant way of doing things without any responsibility, and creates an alibi for when he is held accountable. He calls Mexicans ‘rapists’, but adds that “some, I assume, are good people.” He discouraged wearing of masks and called the virus ‘a hoax’, but when he was questioned, he squarely put the blame on Dr. Anthony Fauci who had initially asked people not to wear masks unless needed to avoid squeezing the supply of masks. He suggests injection of disinfectants into human bodies to fight the virus, but later claims that he was only joking. When asked to reprimand the Proud Boys in the debate against Biden, he asked them to ‘stand back’ and sneakily added ‘stand by’.

He did this again today, in perhaps, what should be the last straw. Trump summoned his supporters from various States to come to the Capitol right before the Joint Session certifying the election results was to start. He then gave a speech asking them to march and show strength to those inside the Congress. He kept the National Guard away, leading to an invasion of the Capitol by this mob. And then, he releases a video on Twitter asking these people to ‘go home’, adding that he loves them very much. This reluctant plea to leave the Capitol will be his defence when questioned for accountability.

Not conceding the election too works brilliantly in his favour. Accepting that he lost would be a hurt to his ego, but much more than that, it would be an acknowledgement that he has lost his relevance. So, he conveniently pleaded foul play and kick-started collecting funds for his Political Action Committee (PAC). His followers poured in almost $250 million, which Trump will use to fund several Congressional Republican campaigns to ensure that he has a tight hold over the party. The 140+ Republican Representatives who voted to object election certification today all did so in anticipation of a slice from this corpus to fund their future campaigns.

Mistaking his evil intelligence with imbecility has costed the US. Although this may be difficult for others to replicate, as long as he holds the strings of money and power in politics, there is a lot more of Trump to see. Not to mention, his plan of running again in 2024.