One serious problem for Trump if he actually did choose not to run——
every President became a lame duck the minute he started his last term. No one took him seriously or listened to him or passed his legislation. It was over.
All the egotists in the Senate will jockey for face time at the microphone and camera.
Sen. Rudy Boschwitz of Minnesota, who was born in Germany, once said that he ans Sen. S.I. Hayakawa (who was born in Japan) were the only senators who didn’t wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and say, “Now, that would be a fine-looking president.”