Of all the stupid and venal things he did–declaring a fake "national emergency" at the Southern border, withdrawing from the Paris Climate accords, withdrawing from the World Health Organization–the most ominous was pardoning all those convicted for participation in the stormtrooper riot on January 6, 2021, including those convicted of violent crimes and seditious conspiracy.  What this signals, unmistakably, is that Trump has no intention of permitting a peaceful transfer of power in January 2029, unless it is to his anointed successor.  It may also signal his intent to hang on to power himself.