Be the first player to play all your cards (President), and avoid being the last one stuck with cards (Asshole). Once you're out, you get a rank: President, Vice-President, Citizen(s), Vice-Asshole, Asshole.
From lowest to highest: 3 < 4 < 5 < 6 < 7 < 8 < 9 < 10 < J < Q < K < A < 2. Yes — 2 is the highest card, 3 is the lowest.
Yes. The opener of a trick chooses the count — 1, 2, 3 or 4 cards of the same rank (single, pair, triple, quads). Every following play must use the same count and a strictly higher rank.
The pile is cleared and the last player who actually played starts a new trick with whatever count and rank they want.
Before the next round: the Asshole hands their two highest cards to the President, who returns two cards of their choice. With 4+ players, the Vice-Asshole gives one card to the Vice-President, who returns one. The President then opens the round.
In V1, yes — the 2 is just the highest rank. (Stop / Revolution rules from some house variants are not in V1; they may show up later.)
3 to 7 players. Best with 4-6.