A few months ago, I made three bold predictions in print: (1) President Donald Trump will be impeached for a third time; (2) If Democrats win in the midterms, Trump will not accept the results of the election; and (3) Trump will not complete the final three years of his term. How are these predictions faring?

For predictions (1) and (3), it’s too soon to say. But if Democrats win the House in 2026 a third impeachment will not only be possible but may even be obligatory. Some violations of our laws and Constitution simply can’t be ignored. Republicans will accuse Democrats of suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, but even a House narrowly held by Republicans could conceivably muster enough conscience to call out Trump on some of his worst transgressions.

Trump’s conviction in the Senate is another matter, however, so his removal from office during the next three years according to the prescribed constitutional process is unlikely.

But if you watched Trump’s lengthy press conference last week and his speech the next day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, you may have been struck by characteristics common to both:

Trump mentioned many things, but the context for both speeches was his extraordinary threat to seize Greenland from Denmark by force, either military or economic or both. Against that backdrop, Trump meandered broadly—his so-called “weave”—bragging, complaining, praising himself, belittling and condescending to others, especially countries whom, until very recently, the U.S. has considered valuable allies.

Trump said quite a bit that just wasn’t true or was wildly exaggerated. He repeated pointless, off-the-cuff anecdotes that no serious speechwriter would include. He faked an inept French accent while describing a bullying conversation with French president Emmanuel Macron, then used the same clumsy accent while describing a bullying conversation with a Swiss official, a “so aggressive” woman, he pointed out.

George Orwell said that a writer should never use a word he’s used to seeing in print, yet it’s hard to come up with a better one to describe these speeches: “unhinged.” You would be forgiven for wondering how such a self-centered, careless and undisciplined mind can survive three more years in office.

Will Trump be impeached for a third time? Will he complete his next three years in office? The jury is still out.

But prediction (2) comes with an expiration date: November 3, 2026. If Democrats win either the House or the Senate in the midterms, it’s impossible to believe that Trump will gracefully accept the results of the election.

In fact, during a recent interview with Reuters, Trump bragged that he had already accomplished so much that “when you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election.”

Was he serious, joking or just indulging in a pleasurable fantasy? I don’t know. But one of the tragedies of Jan. 6 is that Trump has managed to divert many Americans’ attention away from the core truth of that disgraceful day: Trump really did try to overturn a legitimate election.

That’s why the current show of force in Minneapolis and other American cities has implications far beyond immigration enforcement and crime control. Trump likes troops on the streets. At about minute 50 of his press conference last week, he said, “To me, a town looks better when you have military people, big strong guys…I feel much better seeing those people there.”

He would like for us to feel the same. Or at least to tolerate well-armed, anonymous troops on American streets. Or at least to get used to it.

Though he never served in uniform himself, Trump is fond of the trappings of the military and the power and dominance that they imply. It’s not unreasonable to expect that the presence of troops on the streets will continue and increase as the election approaches.

What is unreasonable is to expect that Trump will quietly accept significant losses next November. Troops on the street will play a big role in his resistance to the result. I’m not sure how we prepare for this. But it’s a reality that America cannot afford to ignore.

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