Imagine an alternate universe where Donald Trump was held accountable for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and banned from politics forever. Now compare that to reality, where he’s the likely 2024 GOP nominee while continuing to inch ahead of President Joe Biden in poll after poll. That’s the challenge columnist S.V. Date set as he pointed out that not only is Trump the frontrunner who’s gaining in the polls, his grip over the Republican Party is as strong as ever. And he added that Trump truly clenched the nomination on the day that then-House minority leader Kevin McCarthy traveled to Mar-a-Lago…