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This week, an important relic of Donald Trump's career imploded.

The implosion was literal, not figurative. City officials ordered the implosion of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, which has been derelict since the business closed in 2014.

When it was first built in 1984, the 32-story casino was a great symbol of Mr Trump's ambitions in the world of casinos, showbusiness and events.

But by the early 1990s, the Trump Plaza casino business was $US500 million ($641) in debt.

It's not the only part of his former life that has been destroyed since he decided to run for president six years ago.

His years as New York real estate tycoon and star of reality television, welcomed by elites to high society events, appear to be over.

Watching the old casino collapse, I have been wondering: if he had the chance, would he do it all again?

For many observers of Mr Trump's presidency, the answer is obviously "yes".

But look at the effect his five-year foray into national politics has had on him and it becomes a more interesting question.

Mr Trump, heir to a New York property empire built up by his father, lived a strange but comfortable life.

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Despite his relentless criticism of then-president Barack Obama and attachment to racist conspiracy theories about the first black president's birthplace, he was so central to New York culture that he was welcomed at every high society event.

He hosted a top-rating TV show, he performed songs at the Emmys and he hosted Saturday Night Live.

He and wife Melania Trump walked the red carpet at the Met Gala and White House Correspondents Dinner.

While his business was losing money, had he unloaded a couple of his least profitable golf courses, he had the ability to turn that around.

He could, probably, have sold his entire property empire and been better off financially.

The Apprentice, along with his new business licencing his name to products and property developments around the world, was earning him around $20 million a year.

If he had remained a private citizen, he could have found himself sitting pretty in 2021 calling into right-wing radio and TV stations at will to voice his criticism of the Clinton administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite his insistence that his political movement has "only just begun", the final 12 months of his presidency has meant it will struggle to find more support than it currently holds.

His handling of the pandemic will only look more appalling in contrast to the coming year as the vaccination program begins to control the horrific death toll the virus has wrought on the United States.

His refusal to accept the results of the election led not only to him becoming the first president ever to be impeached twice, but the rise of a new zeal among establishment Republicans to stand up to him.

Mitt Romney, the one Republican senator who voted to convict Trump in his 2020 impeachment trial, was joined by six of his colleagues in 2021.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the most powerful figure among Congressional Republicans, implied that the former president may be criminally indicted for his actions leading up to the Capitol riot.

Beyond that, other trouble looms. Investigations in Washington DC and New York into the Trump family's business dealings may lead to costly court cases, criminal indictments, or monetary fines.

His decision not to attempt to pardon himself leaves him open to federal charges of campaign finance violations or obstruction of justice stemming from the Mueller investigation.

Additionally, the tax audit he has always used as an excuse for delaying the release of his tax returns continues. Massive debts to unknown creditors are coming due.

Even without any of those threats, his ability to market his name for cash has been diminished by his presidency, with licensing deals all but drying up.

He is so unwelcome in New York that he has permanently relocated to Florida. His socialite daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner have followed.

His continued insistence that a massive conspiracy involving large voting machine companies was responsible for the 2020 election result has even led him to clash with his former media ally, Fox News.

The supporter base he cultivated is now all he has left.

His rejection of democratic principles and refusal to concede led to a permanent ban on his social media accounts, damaging his prospects of success in any future political campaigns.

If even part of this is true, then even Mr Trump would likely agree that if he had his time again, he would not decide to run for president.

There is a version of 2021 where indictments never materialise, the tax audit disappears, the creditors wipe off their debts and New York high society welcomes him back.

Part of that relies on how his relationship proceeds with his own party.

While he has made it clear that he now has no relationship with Mr McConnell, his connection with Fox News is already on the mend. He spoke at length with them on Wednesday about the death of right-wing radio shock jock Rush Limbaugh.

His allies in the Senate are also still with him, with Senator Lindsey Graham describing the future of the Republican Party as "Trump Plus".

The other big contributor to how Mr Trump's life pans out from here is President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats.

In the Senate impeachment trial, we have seen shadows of a Democratic desire to move past Trump quickly.

Despite holding almost every lever of control, they held a quick trial, with no witnesses reportedly fearful that anything else would ruin President Biden's chances of bipartisan support on coronavirus recovery legislation.

For Democrats, Mr Trump's time in office can either be viewed as an aberration to hopefully get past quickly and forget, or the canary in the coalmine screaming about fundamental flaws in America's political system.

During the impeachment trial, Democrats indicated they were inclined towards the former. The importance of the trial was primarily in making sure Mr Trump individually could never become president again.

But if you look at this as an indication of the inability of the American system to resist a charismatic populist with authoritarian tendencies, the threat is not Mr Trump, but a future equivalent who is more capable of capitalising on the tremendous power and opportunities Mr Trump gained, then squandered.

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The implosion of Donald Trump's old casino made me wonder whether he would do it all again - ABC News