Despite the consistent media outcry and challenges along the way, Donald Trump is now officially the 45th president of the United States. While he has overcome a surprising amount of challenges to take the highest office in the land, it seems as if he is set up for failure going forward.

Whether he succeeds in his perceived policies and campaign promises, changes them completely or fails to accomplish anything altogether, Donald Trump seems to be in a lose-lose situation.

Donald Trump succeeding in his policies is what liberals and the news media seem to fear most. If one were to believe the protesters, Facebook posters and media pundits, Donald Trump succeeding would quickly hurl the nation back into the past with rampant racism, sexism and isolationism prevailing with the planet quickly sinking into the fiery grips of global warming. Donald Trump succeeding in even some of his policies would cause a media firestorm and would only prolong the protests which have dominated the coverage between his victory and the election – even now, groups seek to challenge the legality of his presidency.

If Trump instead changes his policies to be more “bipartisan” or backs down from some of his trademark policies, then he would stand to alienate his base and suffer massive losses in the next election. It would seem that many of the Trump hallmarks are no-compromise issues for his base. If he fails to fight for the wall, pro-life policies, economic protectionism and other policies, many of his voters will likely look elsewhere for a candidate to support. The media reaction would likely be mixed into this as well, with some praising the change of heart and others snidely calling him a liar.

And if Trump totally fails to get anything done during his time in office, then the story will be that he was indeed incompetent after all and it was a huge mistake to elect someone with no political experience to the presidency. He would have a hard time fast-talking himself out of any lack of progress, as he is guaranteed at least two years of majorities in both the Senate and the House.

These things considered, it may seem as if a second term for Donald Trump would be a long shot. Yes, it perhaps is a little early to start considering the next president when the current one is just barely sworn in, but I guarantee you that politicians are already considering it and the story of the next election is already being written.

While a second term may not seem likely on the surface, two things are most certainly true: first is that what policies he chooses to pursue and their success are an unknown factor; second that normal rules of logic and politics do not apply to Donald Trump.

If Trump is able to spark an economic takeoff or be in the right place at the right time to take credit for one, that could possibly seal his next election victory.

Regardless of the successes and failures of his individual policies, Donald Trump’s best quality up to this point has been his ability to defy all conventional wisdom and logic about politics. No facts, missteps or traditional qualifications could keep Trump out of office. If he is able to maintain his superman control of his own persona, write his own news stories via Twitter, and keep his current baffling winning streak then anything is possible for the next election.

So while those who lamented Clinton’s loss may see a glimmer of hope in the situation that Trump finds himself in to start off his presidency, with Donald Trump it seems as if no one knows exactly what is going to happen next.