I keep coming back to "all this for literally Donald Trump," but it fits. There's not some more competent aspiring autocrat who'd somehow "earn" or "win" this. This is how it has always gone: feckless/evil elites attaching themselves to the sociopath they believe will get them where they want to go.
Trump had Jr. approach Kasich in 2016 with the offer to put him (as VP) in charge of domestic *and* foreign policy. When Kasich asked what Trump would be in charge of, Jr. replied "making America great again." He never actually wanted to do any of the work of being President.
Not sure why he’s trying so hard to get reelected. I didn’t think he wanted to win in the first place, he was complaining about the election being rigged way before he won
Losing was a huge blow to his vanity; he has try to erase that. Also, as president, he can stop the DOJ cases against him. I agree that he probably didn't initially even want to win in 2016, but now I think he realizes the massive opportunities for graft and narcissistic satisfaction.
Winning was a series of huge blows to his vanity too. Getting booed at the World Series? Dude. The best thing for his ego would be holing up at Mar a Lago and basking in franchise-owner adulation until the coronary gets him
