Donald Trump just declared his last day in office will be a ‘very sad day’

Donald Trump is, at long last, acknowledging that he will leave office someday. Honestly, that’s a comforting thought since we’ve all been wondering whether he’d ever accept that reality. But, Trump appears convinced that his departure will be a “very sad day.” So, who’s going to tell him the nation plans to throw a party?

On Jan. 29, Trump told pharmaceutical companies they have two to three years to build manufacturing plants in the United States. Why? Because they’ll otherwise face tariffs of 100, 200, even 300 percent. That deadline exists for one reason: Trump will leave office in 2028. Lamenting about the day, he said, “it will be a sad day, a very sad day for me.”

Sad day for him? Acceptable. Because, of course, he won’t be able to cash his pocket and bully everyone around. Oh, and no more immunity from indictment for his crimes. But sad day for the rest of us? Delusional Don really needs a reality check. And people on X said just the right things to expose just how far removed Trump’s sentiment was from public reality.

Almost everyone noted that while it may be a sad day for Trump personally, it would be anything but sad for everyone else. Some joked that the only sadness would be if JD Vance were the one taking over. Others were more blunt, saying, “The world will celebrate the day,” and “It will be the best day” imaginable. Some pointed put that Trump’s real sorrow comes from knowing he can no longer enrich himself or shield his family after leaving office.

But one recurring refrain cut even deeper. For Trump, the day he leaves office won’t be sad because of legacy, it would be sad because that’s when the indictments begin. Trump meant the line as a throwaway, but it was an accidental confession. In a single sentence, he revealed how he sees power, how he sees himself, and how little room there is in his worldview for a future that doesn’t revolve around him.

For Trump, the presidency is clearly more than a temporary role governed by elections. He sees it as something he owns. And the idea of giving it up clearly troubles him. The sadness he described wasn’t about stepping aside for the next administration or trusting institutions to carry on. It was about him no longer being in the chair. Even as he was mourning for his last day in office, he was asserting power and illuminating with narcissism. 

Trump warned corporations to hurry up while he still holds power because there is never going to be a better president, according to him. In the same stretch of remarks, Trump had declared his first year of his second term possibly “the most successful year in the history of any American administration.” So, in Trump’s telling, his every major policy is unprecedented. Every outcome of his policies are historic, and any future without him will be a downgrade.