Donald Trump Won’t Let Anyone Talk Him Out of Revenge

Donald Trump often tries to leave himself just enough plausible deniability so that his allies can insist he’s not speaking literally. But when it comes to threatening his political opponents, the former president has been clear: He means what he says.

After raising eyebrows this week for suggesting in a Newsmax interview that he may seek to prosecute “nasty” Democrats if he wins back the White House in November, he was given not one but two opportunities to soften his rhetoric. He passed on both.

The first off-ramp came in an interview Wednesday with Sean Hannity, a close ally. “Will you pledge to restore equal justice, equal application of our laws, end this practice of weaponization?” the Fox News host asked, giving him a chance to address critics who “want people to believe that you want retribution, that you will use the system of justice to go after your political enemies.”

“I know you want me to say something so nice, but I don’t want to look naive,” Trump replied. “When this election is over, based on what they have done, I would have every right to go after them.”

Okay, so he believes he has “every right” to go after Democrats. But that doesn’t mean he actually would…right? “You don’t have time to get even,” as Dr. Phil McGraw suggested to Trump in a deferential interview Thursday. “Revenge does take time, I will say that,” Trump responded. “And sometimes, revenge can be justified, Phil. I have to be honest. Sometimes it can.”

Revenge is often on the mind of the former president, who has promised his supporters that he will be their “retribution.” But he has been especially preoccupied with payback since his historic felony conviction last week, as have his supporters, who have escalated their rhetoric against President Joe Biden and other Democrats. Biden should “just be ready,” MAGA Representative Ronny Jackson said on Newsmax recently. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Meanwhile, as elected Republicans vow to avenge Trump, far-right extremist groups and white nationalists have ramped up racist threats online, watchdog groups warn: “It lays the groundwork for more anti-democracy actions,” Lindsay Schubiner, program director at the monitoring group Western States Center, told Axios Friday. “That’s particularly dangerous in the lead-up to the election.”

Democrats have dialed up their own warnings about the “convicted felon” running against Biden: “He’s out for revenge and retribution,” reads a billboard the Democratic National Committee unveiled near a Trump campaign event in Phoenix Thursday, days after Biden himself said something had “snapped” in his rival. But there are still those deluding themselves about the threat Trump poses: “I think I really made some headway with him that [revenge] is not the way to go,” Dr. Phil told CNN’s Abby Phillip after his interview with Trump. “I am going to relentlessly try and get him to not do that.” How comforting.

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