So far, the hallmark of Donald Trump’s redemption tour is the pace of the unapologetic retribution against all those he perceives as enemies. We saw the formation of the plan when he put the necessary pieces in place by appointing almost laughably unqualified “loyalists” to every position that mattered, not a single adult among them, not a lone voice of sanity and normality, with perhaps Marco Rubio being one of the few actually qualified for the job offered. Now Trump wants those same loyalists to act with all the cynicism and vitriol that they can muster as they push the country to the brink by putting personal payback against Trump’s enemies ahead of actually doing anything for the country. Yesterday, Trump announced that he will continue to go after Biden’s people, whom he called “brilliant” but evil. Like good dictators anywhere, Trump insists that he’s doing this for the good of the country and not to deal in personal grievances. From a report in NBC News:
President Donald Trump on Monday said he would target former President Joe Biden’s circle, calling them “evil people.”
“There were some brilliant people,” Trump said, referring to Biden’s allies in his White House. “But they’re evil people, and they’re going to be brought down. They have to be brought down ’cause they really hurt our country.”
It is just as chilling in the original German. Indeed, it isn’t that far removed from fascist Germany in that Hitler sought retribution against the “elites” within the government. The difference is that Hitler sought revenge against the Germans that he thought sold the nation out; it wasn’t personal to Hitler. To Trump, everything is personal, and since he sees himself as king of the country, hurting him is hurting the country in his mind.
Trump’s threat to have his political opponent’s allies “brought down” marks his latest move to potentially target political adversaries in a pattern that has alarmed critics who paint the president as pursuing retribution and say he is weaponizing the Justice Department — a claim the president has made about the Biden administration.
And of course, it doesn’t move any MAGA at all when told that the Trump people earned the proceedings that were taken against them. So thoroughly has Trump whitewashed the 2020 election, they still believe it was “stolen” from him (Then why not do it again?), and, of course, he has gotten a free pass for the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Never mind that there were years-long attempts to peacefully and legally get the top secret documents back from Mar-a-Lago, and many lies and attempts to hide the documents, all before there was a search – one that found illegal top-secret documents (Did they ever ask Bolton if he had any? Have they found any? Why not publish the affidavit for what they sought?), and never mind that Biden’s DOJ wasted a precious year putting a special prosecutor in place after Trump announced that he would run for president again, a delay that likely put Trump in the clear such that we never did really see the evidence compiled against him and his conspiracy to overthrow the government.
This is all “payback” of the cheapest kind. After January 6th, the Biden administration unforgivably slowwalked the investigation and prosecution of the event, which should have happened right on the heels of the action, when the country was furious and Trump had hit bottom. Trump is not making the same mistake, going after Biden officials (And possibly Obama officials) over issues that have already been investigated, turning things 180 degrees, and inventing a new reality, in a way unseen since the days of the Soviet Union.
Trump loves the war criminal Putin more than he loves decent American Democrats who simply oppose him. Look at the possible criminal charges coming against Adam Schiff, the firing of Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook (A Black woman, go figure) – unheard of, rumored action coming against Jack Smith, Merrick Garland, Lisa Monaco, Miles Taylor, John Brennan, and James Clapper. One should consider such action “imminent.”
But Trump has to be careful. Even the Bolton raid earned him some pushback in and among the elite in Washington. So far, Trump has done what he has done in steps, in a slow-moving coup, almost surely because he realizes that biting off more than he can chew overnight is more dangerous to him. If he indiscriminately continues to go after innocent Americans, watch how quickly those in the halls of power start to squeal, fearing that what comes around goes around, and aiding and abetting an administration hell-bent on political arrests makes them part of the conspiracy.
He will have to be careful. But it is best to recognize that we’re not even close to one year into his reign, and the process is already well underway. The safest bet is that we haven’t seen anything yet. Watch for Jack Smith to be “investigated,” with Schiff, Comey, Clapper, and Brennan, hot on their heels. It is less likely that officials within the Biden cabinet will be investigated. What goes around comes around, and many in the Trump administration won’t want to see the Justice Department turned on them in the future.
Trump continues to do all this while the economy hangs by a thread. Should it drop and very suddenly, Americans no longer have even the hope for a decent economy as the basis for protecting Trump and his actions. He should be very careful, but won’t be. It will get much worse before it gets better.
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“What goes around comes around, and many in the Trump administration won’t want to see the Justice Department turned on them in the future.”
Well, then if they want to avoid that future, SOMEONE in Drumpf’s orbit needs to do SOMETHING to rein in his fat ass. And promptly.
But NO ONE is going to do that.
The Democrats, next year and in 2028, need to avoid making any kind of chatter about “retribution” (maybe phrase it as “restoring America’s democratic and republican values as the Founding Fathers envisioned them”) but, as soon as they have enough power, take ’em all down. Round ’em all up, and let Karma go to work. And any of them (especially the “pious” Christians) who start whining about “mistreatment” and “persecution,” remind them they took oaths to “uphold and defend the Constitution” when they took office and they all betrayed that oath.
On that last part, I say since every GOD DAMNED one of them made such a BIG F**KING DEAL about putting their left hand on some very special (to them – often we got the story of why that particular one was sooooooooo important to them) BIBLE to take their oath that they LIED to the God! Or if they weren’t lying when they swore on their bibles to uphold the Constitution and kinda sorta intended to decided their loyalty to Trump was greater than their promise to GOD.
Hit them where it hurts. In their effing piety.
Yes, Joseph. Everyone not MAGA should be working/shouting “Keep a lid on it”, “Talk them down”. “Our day will come”. Anything that keeps things cool.
While I wouldn’t be for Newsom, he has proven laughter is the best medicine. The best defense is patience, waiting for their over reach. The weapons of the moment are mockery and speaking truthful facts.
Go back to “We shall overcome”. It worked then and will work now.
the only thing that takes him down is death & taxes. the only thing this country cares about is the stock market and if that tanks well there you go, that’s all folks
Damn…why did NOT ONE reporter in the room ask, “What do you mean by ‘brought down,’ Mr. President? Which people, specifically, are you talking about? What, exactly, are you accusing them of?”
He wouldn’t be able to respond to those questions, but why bother with details when the point is to intimate as many folks as possible? And the idiots in the press pool allowed him to do it.