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    • Trump spoke of retaliation. Will he be up to the task as president?
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    Trump spoke of retaliation. Will he be up to the task as president?

    Umito Posted on

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    Capitalizing on Donald Trump’s incendiary comments about his political opponents, Democrats have spent months warning that he would come into office with an “enemies list” and wage a revenge campaign unprecedented in modern politics .

    Voters shrugged their shoulders and elected Trump anywayand its allies say concerns about retaliation were overblown. Trump likes to talk tough and often doesn’t follow through − It’s just theater, they argue, pointing to “lock her up” slogans during the 2016 campaign that targeted Hillary Clinton. But no prosecution was initiated.

    Trump is known for being vengeful. He hounded those who opposed him politically while in office, campaigning tirelessly against Republicans who voted for his two impeachments. And he has already tangled in the justice system, firing FBI Director James Comey over the agency’s handling of an investigation into alleged collusion between his 2016 campaign and Russia.

    He also Attorney General Jeff Sessions was firedwho angered Trump after he recused himself from the Russia investigation, and his Justice Department reportedly pushed for a criminal investigation. to former Secretary of State John Kerry after the two clashed over the Iran nuclear deal.

    The question now is whether Trump’s campaign threats are bluster or a harbinger of a difficult period of score-settling.

    A Trump emboldened by a resounding victory and a recent Supreme Court decision offer broad immunity because the actions of a sitting president follow through on threats against his opponents? Is it time to recover?

    Trump talked on the campaign trail about taking legal action against everyone since President Joe Biden to the vice president Kamala HarrisLiz Cheney, former GOP congresswoman and former Speaker of the House. Nancy Pelosi. He attacked the “enemies within”. He has threatened his opponents with prosecution, drawing comparisons with authoritarian regimes and raising serious concerns about the country’s democratic foundations.

    Trump shared a post on social media claiming Cheney is “guilty of treason,” an accusation he also made against former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

    “This is such an egregious act that, once upon a time, the punishment would have been DEATH!” » Trump wrote on social media about Milley.

    During for a Rally in Pennsylvania Trump said Harris “should be impeached and prosecuted” for her handling of the immigration issue.

    More: Trump promises to take on his enemies if elected. Meet two henchmen ready to carry this out

    Still, those close to Trump downplay retaliatory talk, and many point to Clinton’s example as a sign that campaign rhetoric doesn’t mean legal action. They echo Trump in saying the greatest revenge will be a successful presidency with a booming economy.

    “He’s never done it before, I don’t think he’s going to burn out on it,” said a Republican consultant close to the Trump campaign, adding that “he knows how the history books are written. .. he knows that if he goes in and inflation calms down, the world relaxes. The last chapter on him could have a lot of balance.

    Some longtime Trump watchers are skeptical.

    “The idea that Donald Trump is going to go into this as Mary Poppins after being Godzilla on the campaign trail is just a vast misinterpretation of who he is,” said Trump biographer Tim O ‘Brien.

    Just as Trump often made contradictory statements throughout the campaign, say one day that Biden and his family should face a special prosecutor and another who “my revenge will be a success” Some allies suggest prosecutions could be warranted while casting a cold shoulder on the idea of ​​a presidency largely focused on retaliation.

    “If he didn’t do it in his first term, why would he do it in his second term?” » Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser, said Tuesday at the new president’s election night in West Palm Beach. “Now, having said that, those who broke the law, as we are constantly told, should be prosecuted.”

    Conservative Political Action Conference President Matt Schlapp says the federal bureaucracy will try to cripple Trump’s presidency and he must be “ready to fight.”

    “What we have to be prepared to do is prosecute or at least discipline all of these swamp creatures who are trying to undermine the legitimately elected president,” Schlapp said.

    Even those who don’t think Trump will seek to indict his opponents believe there could be a purge at the Justice Department, which has brought criminal charges against the current president.–elected for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Trump has committed to shooting special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is handling both cases.

    “Revenge means to me that half of the DOJ will be fired. I don’t think revenge means people will be thrown in jail,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide turned critic.

    Trump often claims that the DOJ was politicized and engaged in a “legal war” against him, despite no evidence that Biden intervened in any of his cases and Attorney General Merrick Garland’s insistence that the agency act independently.

    A shake-up within the DOJ could threaten the agency’s independence and subject it to the president’s whims, giving him broad powers to go after perceived enemies.

    “I think you will see real wrongdoing at the Justice Department,” said Ty Cobb, a Trump White House lawyer and now critic of the former president, who predicted “loyalty tests” for top figures of the Ministry of Justice.

    O’Brien described Trump’s campaign as a “revenge tour” for a man who believes he was unfairly stripped of the presidency in 2020. An aggrieved Trump with few safeguards in a second administration will be dangerous, O’Brien said ‘Brien.

    “I think he’s going to take an authoritarian approach to the American public that no one in the modern era is used to or has seen,” O’Brien said. “And the consequences, I think, are going to be surprising and serious.”

    Harris focused on Trump’s campaign threats closing messagesaying she would come to power with a “to-do list” while her opponent has an “enemies list.” That wasn’t enough to keep him from winning, and Trump’s allies say it doesn’t ring true.

    “It’s not going to be retaliation,” said Stone, who was pardoned by Trump after being convicted of obstructing Congress’ investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and making false statements. “I think he understands that to get the biggest ‘you’ possible, you have to turn the country around and become the most popular president in American history. I don’t think he’s interested in personal revenge, that’s not his motivation here, it never was.

    Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to former Trump vice president Mike Pence, said the language Trump used on the campaign trail was “unfortunate.”

    “I think as conservatives, one of our core principles is to believe in the rule of law,” Short said. “We often criticize left-wing dictatorships for pursuing their political enemies, so I hope that won’t be the case. »

    While pointing out that Trump never pursued Clinton after pledging to do so in 2016, Short said it was reasonable to wonder whether he would follow through this time around, after a campaign full of threats.

    “That’s a good question because I think the rhetoric has been more heated this time,” Short said.

    Umito
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