3 days later A New York City jury has made Donald Trump the first former president to be labeled a felon, the one-time reality TV host told Fox News. “My revenge will succeed.” This heinous rhetoric was unbelievable, as Trump has demonstrated an intense obsession with vengeance and retaliation against those he considers his enemies and detractors throughout his life.
In subsequent interviews, Trump took contradictory positions on the issue of retaliation. In an appearance on Newsmax, he said his political opponents would be the same if he were elected. I think I will You will be prosecuted. Then on Wednesday night, Trump said he would not seek retaliation against President Joe Biden and others.
Despite all this back and forth, the historical record is clear. Trump has long had a love of revenge. So much so that this stereotype should be added to the list of concerns reasonable people should have about a Trump restoration. If Trump returns to the White House with his authoritarian impulses, he will likely use his power to seek compensation for this conviction, the other civil and criminal cases filed against him, and all the perceived insults and assaults. There will be revenge.
Immediately after the ruling, Trump’s MAGA minions were not as restrained as their Dear Leader, and many explicitly called for retribution. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) tweeted, “Time for Red State AGs and DAs to get busy.” This is a clear call for state and local prosecutors to target Democrats. Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon each called on Republican prosecutors to open investigations into Democrats. Mike Davis, a right-wing legal activist who has been mentioned as a possibility to become attorney general if Trump wins, said: Axios Republican prosecutors in Florida and Georgia argued that Trump should be indicted to open a criminal investigation into Democrats involved in election interference. House Speaker Mike Johnson has informed his Republican colleagues that he is planning ways to punish the Justice Department and local jurisdictions that prosecute Trump. After Republican former Maryland governor Larry Hogan is now running for the U.S. Senate, the Trump campaign tweeted before the verdict that “all Americans should respect the verdict and legal process” and “not pour fuel on the fire with more harmful partisanship.” urged. “Your campaign is over,” co-manager Chris LaCivita grumpily responded.
Commenters on pro-Trump websites have called for violence against judges in Trump’s mushing/election interference cases and liberals in general. Trump supporters also targeted jurors with vitriol and posted violent threats against prosecutors. John Eastman, an indicted lawyer who helped Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election (his attorney is suspended from law in California and Washington, D.C.), warned that Trump’s supporters would almost justify violence if Trump were sentenced to prison. We must “solve problems ourselves” and “find solutions ourselves.”
All of these and other similar reactions were extremely Trumpian. Trump has condoned and encouraged violence throughout his presidency. And for decades, Trump has cited revenge as one of his primary motivations. He even touted it as being crucial to his success.
During the 2016 campaign, I tried to draw attention to troubling aspects of Trump’s psychological makeup. I’ve reported many instances of his long-standing passion for revenge, including one he tweeted in 2014 quoting legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock. “Revenge is sweet and not fattening.”
Before running for president, Trump expressed his love of revenge in many speeches and public lectures. In 2011, he spoke at the National Achievers Congress in Sydney, Australia, where he explained how he achieved wealth and fame. He pointed out that there are several lessons not taught in business schools that those aiming for success must know. At the top of the list was this advice: “Treat people fairly. If they mess with you, hit them back 10 times harder. “I really believe that.”
In a 2012 speech, he proposed a longer version of this riff.
One of the things you have to do in terms of success: When someone hits you, you have to hit them five times harder than they ever thought possible. You must take revenge. Be even. And the why, why you do it, is very important… Why you do it, you should do it. Because if they do that to you, you have to leave a clear sign that they can’t take advantage of you. It’s not that big of a deal for someone who makes you feel good, but to be honest, I’ve done that many times. But other people look at this and say, “Well, let’s leave her Trump alone,” “Let’s leave this alone,” “Doris, let’s leave her alone.” “They fight too hard,” he said. I tell you, it is very important. You have to fight back. You have to fight back.
In a 2007 speech in Toronto, Trump criticized actress Rosie O’Donnell, with whom he had a celebrity feud. He then switched to his deeper message. “The point is, one of the things I’ll talk about later… When someone screws you over, you will screw that person back in spades. I really mean it. I really mean it. You have to hit people hard. And for him, it’s not that much. “Other people see it.”
For Trump, acts of revenge are essential to show that he is a tough guy. It is clearly an important component of one’s self-image.
In another speech that year, he shared his first rule of business:
It’s called “Get Even.” Be even. This is not your typical business speech. Be even. This is a real business speech. To be fair, I like Wharton. But Wharton teaches bullshit. In business, you get revenge on people who bully you. And you tighten them 15 times tighter. That’s because, not only because of who you’re chasing, but because other people are watching what’s going on. Other people look at you or look at you and see how you react.
Trump pounded his chest on this point in a 2010 interview with journalist Erin Burnett.
There are a lot of bad people in the world. And I really have to go… If you have a problem, if someone has a problem, you have to go after that person. And you don’t necessarily have to teach the person a lesson. It’s about teaching everyone who is watching the lecture. That you don’t take crap. And if you talk nonsense, it won’t go well… But I can’t take a lot of the nonsense people say. We have to go after them.”
Trump has repeatedly hailed the power and necessity of retaliation. He said this on Twitter in 2013: “Always be even. In business, you have to get revenge on people who ruin you.” – Think big.”
Although Trump has issued a radical response to the conviction, publicly vowing revenge, he still has a history of celebrating revenge. (Perhaps he is restraining himself while awaiting sentencing.) But he was not shy in other ways. Trump recently endorsed his primary Republican opponent, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. defendant. The reason Trump did so was because Good previously supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over Trump in the Republican presidential primary. Trump characterized this support as compensation for the sacrilege of exorcism.
And just a few months agowashington postPresident Trump and his allies have “begun making concrete plans to use the federal government to punish his critics and opponents if he wins a second term,” the report said. “The former president has named people he wants to investigate or prosecute.” The list includes people who worked under Trump and became critics, including former Chief of Staff John Kelly, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, as well as Biden and his family. . The article, titled “Trump and his allies plan retaliation, Justice Department to take control in second term,” sparked a flurry of reactions, with experts calling it more evidence of Trump’s extremism and authoritarian aspirations. pointed out.
that much post The report was an important story, but it was also an old one. Anyone who has paid any attention knows that Trump has always been a revenge addict. This is a dangerous and fundamental personality trait. Not surprisingly, as he transformed the Republican Party and the conservative movement into a cult of personality, the thirst for revenge became a core value of these groups.
In a public rant the day after the trial ended, Trump condemned the “bad people” and “sick people” responsible for the cases against him, criticized the judge in the New York City case and called the Biden administration a “mob.” did. The fascists… “It’s destroying our country.” This is the sort of term Trump has used in the past to identify people who justify his vengeful anger. He is a firm believer in retribution and makes a list.
For years, political observers have speculated that Trump participated in the 2016 campaign content as revenge for the humiliation he suffered when President Barack Obama stabbed him at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. maybe. But certainly one factor driving him this time is his desire to settle scores with those who opposed him during his first term and thwarted the reconfirmation he craved in 2020. This conviction undoubtedly adds more names to his hit list and will. , reinforcing the already excessive and alarming desire for revenge that Trump would bring back to the White House if elected.
Mother Jones Illustration; Doug Mills-Pool/Getty; Yurigrips/Abaca/Girl/AP; Jose Luis Magana/AP; Michael Brostein/Girl/AP
