ANALYSIS — Donald Trump got the last laugh, beating a slew of criminal charges without punishment and defeating his political foes. His reward: dealing with often-clashing Republicans in Congress.
The president-elect is scheduled to return to Washington this weekend to kick off the capital city’s quadrennial pomp and circumstance around a new presidential term. But a lot has changed since he delivered his first inaugural address eight long years ago.
When Trump arrives, he will do so with a tighter grip on the Republican Party than when he left town in January 2021, a greater ability to influence the media and an unexpected declaration that he has “changed.”
