Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States of America will be a moment of supreme vindication for him. After being convicted in the New York courts and fighting a ferocious election campaign, during which his opponent declared that “we’re not going back”, well, here we are.
January 20 will also represent a triumph of ambition. Whether Trump’s deepest ambition is to lead his nation or simply to stay out of jail is not necessarily clear, but he has made his quest to return to power everyone’s business, essentially since he left the White House in 2021.
Trump’s electoral success – troubling for some, thrilling for others – forces us to consider the question of ambition anew. What explains this unrelenting drive, this ruthless determination to attack and pulverise his opponents? How does a 78-year-old man maintain this level of commitment to a political struggle when he’d obviously really rather be doing financial deals or playing golf?
