With a second shot at White House, will Trump walk the talk on revenge rhetoric?

New Delhi,UPDATED: Nov 6, 2024 18:23 IST

"When I win, those people that cheated will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, which will include long-term prison sentences,” Donald Trump said in September, long before the American voters handed him a decisive victory over rival Kamala Harris in the US presidential race. With a second term in the Oval Office in the bag for Trump, the question is: Will Trump, who hasn't shied away from making threats against everyone he perceives as his enemy, exact his "revenge"?

Throughout his campaign, Trump vowed to settle scores, calling out political adversaries by name and describing them as “the enemy from within". Now that he has clinched the presidency, America stands at a crossroads, and former officials, political analysts, and everyday citizens alike are bracing for what might come next.

Trump’s campaign left little room for speculation about his intentions. He warned repeatedly that his second term would mean reckoning for those he deems responsible for obstructing his agenda and undermining his leadership.

Trump issued more than 100 threats to prosecute or generally punish his perceived adversaries since he began organising his campaign in 2022, as per a report by the NPR. Between January 1, 2023, and April 1, 2024, Trump threatened to go after or prosecute President Joe Biden at least 25 times on Truth Social, the report added.

In a fiery interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, Trump didn’t hold back: “We’ve got a bigger problem with the enemy from within than we ever had with the likes of Kim Jong-un,” he declared, positioning top Democrats and former allies as internal threats potentially more dangerous than any foreign adversary.

But it wasn’t just talk. Trump detailed his retribution plans with striking clarity. He has called out high-profile Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff as “more dangerous than China or Russia” and has floated the idea of using the military to "handle" any disruptive critics.

Trump has also said that Kamala Harris "should be impeached and prosecuted".

Journalists and reporters haven’t been spared either. In 2022, Trump called for jailing journalists who do not disclose the identity of leakers. “If the reporter doesn’t want to tell you, it’s bye-bye, the reporter goes to jail,” he said.

FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS SOUND THE ALARM

This rhetoric has put Trump on a collision course with American democratic norms. Former Justice Department officials, alarmed by the threats, have raised red flags over what a Trump-led Justice Department might look like if it’s primarily driven by revenge.

Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, warned that Trump's public enemies list—those who “crossed” him during his first term—signals a deeply concerning departure from tradition. "Trump's anti-democratic, authoritarian rhetoric has been ratcheted up," Bromwich said, stressing that the former president's approach seems to view the Constitution as “a nuisance to be circumvented rather than a set of principles to be honoured”, as per a report by The Guardian.

Barbara McQuade, another former federal prosecutor, echoed these fears, describing Trump’s threats as “a dangerous deviation from democratic norms.” McQuade noted that using the powers of the presidency for personal vendettas “is something we see in authoritarian regimes, not democracies”, as per The Guardian report.

REVENGE AND RETRIBUTION: AN UNCHECKED SECOND TERM?

Without the “guardrails” he faced during his first term, Trump’s plans seem to centre on staffing his administration exclusively with loyalists willing to carry out his vision without question. He has suggested that moderate Republicans would no longer be welcome in his administration, and there’s talk of reissuing a controversial executive order aimed at removing job protections for thousands of federal employees.

For Trump, loyalty is now paramount. As he told a Pennsylvania rally, his biggest regret from his first term was hiring "disloyal people".

Critics say this approach could clear a path for an unprecedented consolidation of power.

"Trump wants a second go without any obstacles from people who will tell him what he can’t do," Tim Naftali, a senior research scholar at Columbia University, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Naftali also highlighted recent Supreme Court decisions that give presidents greater immunity, saying Trump may find fewer restraints this time around.

JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE CROSSHAIRS

The Justice Department, in particular, has come into Trump’s sights. According to Trump’s repeated statements, he intends to install an attorney general who will pursue investigations and prosecutions of his opponents.

Speaking to The Hill, Michael Bromwich warned that a retribution-focused Justice Department could become “like nothing we have ever seen,” populated by “lawyers with much ambition and little principle, working for a president himself protected by the immunity from prosecution conferred by the Supreme Court”.

Yet, as the former president’s critics shudder, his supporters celebrate. For many who felt disenfranchised by the political establishment, Trump’s willingness to go after the “deep state” marks a long-awaited victory. “He’s finally going to drain the swamp,” said one supporter at a recent rally. “This is Trump unleashed.”

SCOPE OF TRUMP’S LIKELY 'REVENGE'

The scope of Trump’s promised retribution appears vast, spanning political rivals, members of the judiciary, and even federal agencies. Trump has vowed to employ the Justice Department to pursue those he believes wronged him, including launching investigations against President Biden, special counsel Jack Smith, and others. Additionally, Trump has indicated he would reinstate an executive order, dubbed "Schedule F", that allows him to fire thousands of federal employees deemed disloyal, replacing them with loyalists who support his vision. This potential reshaping of the federal workforce could grant Trump unprecedented influence across government agencies.

Trump suggested Smith should be arrested and called him a criminal. He said, “He should be prosecuted for election interference and prosecutorial misconduct.”

“ARREST DERANGED JACK SMITH. HE IS A CRIMINAL!” Trump wrote.

However, Trump faces significant limitations in pursuing unchecked retribution. Although recent Supreme Court rulings offer some immunity protection for presidential actions, other legal and procedural constraints remain. For instance, while Trump could install loyalists in key roles, the Justice Department and the judicial system still operate with various internal checks. Grand juries, federal judges, and independent prosecutors must evaluate and validate any investigations or charges brought forward, which could slow down or block efforts to target political opponents without a factual basis. Additionally, a move to weaponise federal agencies for political purposes may face resistance from career civil servants, potential whistleblowers, and, in some cases, mass resignations.

As Trump looks to settle back into the Oval Office, the US stands on an edge. Will Trump fulfil these promises of retribution, or is it all bluster? Only time will tell.