Trump's enduring grip on the American psyche

When Donald Trump took his final walk from the White House, boarded a helicopter, and vanished into a cold sky, millions of Americans breathed a sigh of relief.

- David Smith

With the former president retired to his Mara-Lago estate, they reasoned, they would no longer live in constant dread of new scandals or impulsive tweets.

Two years and two months later, his legal perils dominate headlines, Republicans define themselves in relation to him and he remains the favourite for the party's nomination for next year's presidential election.

Trump is impossible to ignore. His conduct before and during the January 6 insurrection was the subject of congressional hearings. He inserted himself into the midterm elections and declared his own presidential run.

He is also on the brink of becoming the first US president charged with a crime. A grand jury in New York is examining his involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about an alleged sexual encounter years earlier. Trump has denied the claim, insisted he did nothing wrong, and assailed the investigation, led by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, as politically motivated.