Donald Trump’s Second Term: A Promising Opportunity for America
As Donald Trump campaigns for a second term as U.S. President, he and his allies have promised that, if elected, he would use federal law enforcement to punish his political enemies and restructure the federal government to streamline the implementation of his policies. While Democrats have expressed their concerns about a second Trump presidency, the reaction among Republicans has been sharply divided.
Revenge and Retribution
In recent weeks, Trump has promised his supporters that he will be their “retribution” if he retakes the White House, and has used language reminiscent of the worst of European fascism in the 1930s and 1940s, calling his political opponents “vermin” and warning that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the United States. Trump has also expressed interest in reclassifying broad swaths of the federal workforce — tens of thousands of career civil servants — as “Schedule F” employees whom he could fire at will. A coalition of conservative think tanks, spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, is currently “vetting” thousands of Trump supporters who are interested in serving in a second Trump administration and who could be expected to faithfully carry out his wishes.
Trump’s closest supporters have echoed his threats. In an interview with former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, Kash Patel, a former Defense Department official during the Trump administration, said that in a second Trump term, “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media … Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections — we’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
A One-Day Dictator?
When asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity if he had any plans to abuse power, break the law, or use the government to go after people if reelected, Trump replied, “You mean like they’re using right now?” and did not answer the question. When pressed further, Trump said, “We love this guy. He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said, ‘No, no, no. Other than Day One. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator. OK?”
Republicans Issue Warnings
During the Republican presidential primary debate, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie painted a dire picture of what he thinks another Trump presidency would look like. “This is an angry, bitter man who now wants to be back as president because he wants to exact retribution on anyone who has disagreed with him, anyone who has tried to hold him to account for his own conduct, and every one of these policies that he’s talking about are about pursuing a plan of retribution,” Christie said.
Former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, who has been a vocal critic of Trump and served on the House panel that investigated the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, told CBS News last weekend that she has no doubts about what a second Trump presidency would look like. “One of the things that we see happening today is sort of sleepwalking into a dictatorship in the United States,” she said.
Not a Serious Threat
Current Republican officeholders who are supportive of the former president often downplay his suggestion that he will use the levers of governmental power to punish his critics. During Wednesday’s debate, for example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed concerns about Trump behaving as an authoritarian during a second term. “Look, the media’s making a big deal about what he said about some of these comments,” he said. “I would just remind people that is not how he governed.”
Senator Lindsey Graham has said publicly he believes Trump’s comments to Hannity were meant to be “funny.” In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Graham disputed Cheney’s assertions about how Trump will behave in office, saying they stem from her personal animosity toward the former president. “I think a continuation of the Biden presidency would be a disaster for peace and prosperity at home and abroad,” Graham said. “Our border is broken. The only person who is really going to fix a broken border is Donald Trump. When he was president, none of this stuff was
