Seven days. That's how much time the American people were given to rest and recollect between the 2022 midterm elections and the first candidacy of the 2024 cycle.
Whether you view Donald Trump as an existential threat or eagerly await the restoration of the king-in-exile, everyone wants and needs a break. Hardcore politicos have joked forever that the next cycle begins the day after the last one ends, just like the odds for the next Super Bowl come out within hours of the Lombardi Trophy ceremony. But, also like football prognostication, everyone who isn't a professional or a nerd can ignore it.
Now electoral politics is imposing itself on American life in a new way. Donald Trump is the reason. The 45th president has ensured that the next election, and his own name and face, will be a dominant presence in American media for 720 days. He couldn't even let us have this holiday season, as a treat.
