A number of amiable interviewers have given Donald Trump multiple opportunities in the last week to desist from the retaliatory threats he and his associates have been making after his felony conviction.
But the ex-president has flat-out refused to put an end to the discussion on multiple occasions.
On Thursday, while speaking with psychologist Phil McGraw, the most recent instance of this occurred. Dr. Phil, the TV presenter, has been vocal in his calls for Trump to put aside his inclination to fight and instead concentrate on making America great again.
According to McGraw, “you have so much to do.” There is no time for you to exact revenge. No room for error; time is of the essence.
Trump grinned in response.
“It takes time to get even. “I will say that,” he declared. “And vengeance is sometimes justifiable. The truth is, Phil, I must tell you. On occasion, it is possible.
This comment echoed one from earlier in the week, when Trump turned down many chances to tone down his demands for revenge from Sean Hannity, a Fox News anchor and a close friend of Trump’s.
“Listen, as soon as this election concludes, I will have every right to pursue them, and it would be effortless because it’s Joe Biden,” the ex-president added, referring to their actions.
Similar to Hannity’s earlier efforts to persuade Trump to promise Americans he would not misuse his authority upon his return to the White House, this debate was heated and contentious. In December, Trump said Hannity, “Except for day one,” rather than flat-out rejecting the idea.
In the days following his conviction on 34 criminal counts connected to payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels to influence the 2016 race, a Manhattan jury condemned the former president. Trump’s unwillingness to take the off-ramp comes amid rising demands for revenge from his allies.
Ohio Matthew Colangelo, an attorney in the prosecutor’s office, and Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, were summoned by House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan to testify “about the unprecedented political prosecution of President Trump.” Marco Rubio (R-FL) and JD Vance (R-OH), two potential vice presidential candidates, were among the Republican senators who signed a letter pledging they would not collaborate with Biden’s administration on legislation, judicial nomination confirmation, or non-security expenditure increases.
After much deliberation, Rubio finally decided to take a stand and use the fire emoji in his social media posts.
Some have openly called on Republicans to swiftly attack Trump’s political opponents using their influence. Republican prosecutors should launch investigations and the House should exercise its subpoena power, according to former Trump aide Stephen Miller, who appeared on Fox News following Trump’s sentence.
“The Republican Party must immediately utilize all of its political and power apparatus,” Miller declared.
The overt demands for vengeance have effectively placed retaliation on the November ballot, and Trump loyalists have acknowledged this.
“This isn’t just about winning an election to shift the see saw toward our agenda,” said Russell Vought, a former top official in Trump’s administration who is now helping to strategize for the Republican’s probable return to Washington, on social media.
It’s about making our leaders use every weapon at their disposal to eliminate this menace. “You are not needed” (to put it bluntly), according to Vought, if one cannot attain that degree of historical awareness.
A few of Trump’s advisors have tried to downplay the significance of Trump’s comments. “The new narrative by all the lemmings in the mainstream media this week” is the anxiety over the growing language around reprisal, according to Kellyanne Conway, a former Trump campaign manager.
The fact that Trump “just stood down in any kind of prosecution of Hillary Clinton and retribution” following his 2016 victory over her was, according to Conway, “if you need any evidence.”
“Lock her up,” she said, completely oblivious to the fact that Trump was among those who said so.
Nevertheless, Trump demanded the indictment of eight sitting and former lawmakers who had been part of the House select committee that examined the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, the following day on social media. His announcement followed a federal judge’s ruling that ex-Trump aide Steve Bannon must surrender to the committee’s demands for testimony and documents on July 1.
Even though he was still bitter at his loss in 2020, Trump has begun his third presidential campaign, perhaps plotting vengeance against his opponents.
“I am your retribution,” Trump declared at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference in March.
Trump has occasionally toned down his strong language, per the advice of some advisors. “Retribution is going to be through success,” Trump said earlier this year at the same conservative gathering.
Trump has reiterated this idea multiple times since, notably in the days following the conclusion of his hush money trial, but he doesn’t seem entirely dedicated to it.
Trump said, “It’s a really tough question in one way because these are really bad people,” in response to a Fox News interview questioning whether he still felt that way following the judgment. “Maybe we have revenge through success” was Trump’s first statement in his interview with McGraw, before he implied that more direct reprisal was necessary.
Speaking to AWN’s Abby Phillip after his chat with Trump, McGraw said that he attempted to convince the former president that going on a “revenge tour” would not help mend the nation and unite its citizens. On the other hand, he did concede that Trump could have a different perspective.
“There’s a procedure,” McGraw remarked. Something like, “There’s only one way to go, and that’s to get even,” seems to have been on his mind. By convincing him that that was a bad idea, I think I made some progress. In my opinion, it’s a procedure.