From left: Robert Scheer, Kasia Anderson, Bill Blum and Sarah Wesley.

Donald Trump has been making more headlines than usual this week. Political leaders on both sides of the aisle criticized his comments about the Khan family. He threw a loud baby out of his campaign rally. He has refused to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan and Arizona Sen. John McCain in their re-election bids. And it’s only Thursday.

While the media may be reveling in the outlandishness of this political circus, many have taken a serious approach in analyzing Trump’s erratic bid for president. Truthdig’s own Bill Blum wrote a lengthy piece on the psychopathology of the candidate, coming to the conclusion that Trump is “a deeply troubled and volatile man with the potential to attract and unleash the darkest undercurrents of the nation’s soul.”

There are rumors that Trump may quit the race—at the very least, many in the GOP hope he will. If he doesn’t, however, a Trump presidency would have severe consequences. While many people point out the numerous flaws of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, others argue that Trump would do more harm.

“Trump is an ardent militarist,” wrote Zack Beauchamp of Vox in opposition to the idea that Clinton is more pro-war. And as the American Civil Liberties Union recently noted, most of Trump’s policy proposals “would most likely violate the Constitution, federal statutory law, and/or international law.” Laugh at Trump’s outrageousness all you want, but as Blum noted in a May column, “[T]here is a coherent set of legal goals in Trump’s ideological scramble.”

During this unprecedented election season, we wonder: What is next for Donald Trump? Whether he drops out of the race, loses or wins the presidential election, his participation reveals problems deeply embedded within American society.

On Thursday, Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer and his team were joined by contributor Bill Blum, a former judge, to analyze the legal and social possibilities of Trump’s future. “Trump promotes a childlike, magical way of thinking,” says Blum at one point in the discussion. “Does he really want the job? I don’t think he really understands that it is a job.”

Watch the video below:

Check out past live discussions on our YouTube page.

—Posted by Emma Niles

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