Trump ramps up push to prosecute his political rivals

President Donald Trump has amped up pressure on his administration to punish longstanding rivals and political opposition, first on Sept. 20 by demanding that his attorney general go after them and then vowing the next day to target "radical left maniacs" at the Charlie Kirk memorial.

Speaking to tens of thousands of mourners who flocked to Arizona in remembrance of the slain 31-year-old activists, Trump pointed out that unlike Kirk, he dislikes his political foes.

Thats where I disagree with Charlie," Trump said. "I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them."

These type of comments infuriate the president's detractors, who say it further divides the country.

And they are especially alarming to Trump's critics on the heels of the president asking Attorney General Pam Bondi by name in a Truth Social post to seek criminal charges against high-profile critics, such as former FBI Director James Comey; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The public pressure is another example, some legal observers say, of Trump eroding democratic norms, specifically the U.S. Department of Justice's tradition of independence.

"After months of denial, it has become undeniable that Donald Trump is weaponizing the government to attack his political opponents, silence his critics and neutralize large institutions that might challenge him," Marc Elias, a longtime Democratic election attorney and founder of Democracy Docket, a left-leaning organization focused on election litigation, said in a Sept. 22 newsletter.

"When we sound the alarm that he has turned the Department of Justice into his personal legal arsenal," Elias added, "we are told that he is simply shaking things up by disregarding customs and norms."
Asked about Trump's frustration that the attorney general hadn't made progress on prosecuting past foes, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt scoffed at the notion the agency is being politicized, before she quickly pivoted to slamming the previous administration.

"We are not going to tolerate gaslighting from anyone in the media or from anyone on the other side who is trying to say that it's the president who is weaponizing the (Department of Justice)," she said during the Sept. 22 briefing.

It was Joe Biden and his attorney general who weaponized the DOJ," in reference to special prosecutor Jack Smith bringing charges against Trump for his role in fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot and his retention of classified documents after leaving office.

USA Today

Talk is cheap. Hardcore Maga voters are like 1/7th of the population. Good luck getting the other 6/7ths to comply with their increasingly snowflakey demands.

Trump to Putin: "The student has become the master."

sfcalimari posted...

Talk is cheap. Hardcore Maga voters are like 1/7th of the population. Good luck getting the other 6/7ths to comply with their increasingly snowflakey demands.

We even had Ted Cruz speak up against the FCC strong arming ABC.

JTsyo posted...

We even had Ted Cruz speak up against the FCC strong arming ABC.

Ehhhh, Cruz was speaking out of both sides of his face.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4e3ae8ca.jpg

Can we get a move on here? Kill me or throw me in the gulag, I'm just so fucking tired.

Trump's getting more and more unhinged, impatient, and unstable as time goes on, what does he know that we don't?

Metal_Gear_Raxis posted...

Trump's getting more and more unhinged, impatient, and unstable as time goes on, what does he know that we don't?

That people wont stop him?

Yazarogi posted...

That people wont stop him?

No that's not it. I think he feels his time is almost over.

Yazarogi posted...

That people wont stop him?

Why would the security of knowing he won't be stopped anyways make him so impatient?

Metal_Gear_Raxis posted...

Why would the security of knowing he won't be stopped anyways make him so impatient?

I think psychologically he is a toddler in an old man body, and he has always been impatient. The only difference now is fewer guardrails people are willing to put around him.

The fact that our country elected a (particularly dumb) toddler to office not once but twice says something pretty horrible about our society. It has been pretty clear that Trump has major issues since at least the 80s. He has never behaved like a normal adult with feelings.

Westernwolf4 posted...

I think psychologically he is a toddler in an old man body, and he has always been impatient. The only difference now is fewer guardrails people are willing to put around him.

The fact that our country elected a (particularly dumb) toddler to office not once but twice says something pretty horrible about our society. It has been pretty clear that Trump has major issues since at least the 80s. He has never behaved like a normal adult with feelings.

Its because we allowed Fox News, NYP and similar or even more right wing media outlets just straight up do lies and propaganda for the last 25 years.

JoCrazy posted...

Its because we allowed Fox News, NYP and similar or even more right wing media outlets just straight up do lies and propaganda for the last 25 years.

I agree completely. I have many rambling posts about this on this board and the old politics board.

We are in this mess for a lot of reasons, but a big one is Fox and Rush and all those right wing bad actors poisoning the electorate with lies for decades. The GOP realized their policies are not popular, and instead of coming up with policies people might vote for, they decided to warp reality to suit their base instead.

It is the Democrats of yesterday we should be furious at instead of the ones the electorate has given no power to today. They stood by without effectively countering these lies, and now decades of propaganda has created a country where truth doesnt matter and right wingers have their own comfortable fact free reality to live in. Just as the GOP intended (all the while complaining loudly about liberal bias).

A loser like Donald Trump doesnt rise to this level without cult building softening the ground for four decades first.

Westernwolf4 posted...

I think psychologically he is a toddler in an old man body

Swap "toddler" for "child" and Trump himself will agree with you.

"When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I'm basically the same. The temperament is not that different." - Donald Trump

sfcalimari posted...

Talk is cheap. Hardcore Maga voters are like 1/7th of the population. Good luck getting the other 6/7ths to comply with their increasingly snowflakey demands.

The American electorate in general has refused to punish him for anything he's said or done. Don't hold out hope that they're magically going to rise up and protect you from this administration.

darkace77450 posted...

Swap "toddler" for "child" and Trump himself will agree with you.

"When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I'm basically the same. The temperament is not that different." - Donald Trump

Perhaps the truest thing this guy has ever said, although I still think he operates below that level in terms of intellect and temperament.

Westernwolf4 posted...

It is the Democrats of yesterday we should be furious at

Anything the GOP does is always the Dems fault.

https://youtu.be/pJzfp8QyiNw?si=kHK-UkVTTwB9IeJH

Westernwolf4 posted...

Perhaps the truest thing this guy has ever said, although I still think he operates below that level in terms of intellect and temperament.

Yeah. Like I dont know what grade the kid who did this is, but he looks about in that range. I dont see Trump ever being willing to actually do something like this for someone else.

https://bsky.app/profile/physiciandemocracy.medsky.social/post/3lypozscowc2l

Westernwolf4 posted...

I agree completely. I have many rambling posts about this on this board and the old politics board.

We are in this mess for a lot of reasons, but a big one is Fox and Rush and all those right wing bad actors poisoning the electorate with lies for decades. The GOP realized their policies are not popular, and instead of coming up with policies people might vote for, they decided to warp reality to suit their base instead.

It is the Democrats of yesterday we should be furious at instead of the ones the electorate has given no power to today. They stood by without effectively countering these lies, and now decades of propaganda has created a country where truth doesnt matter and right wingers have their own comfortable fact free reality to live in. Just as the GOP intended (all the while complaining loudly about liberal bias).

A loser like Donald Trump doesnt rise to this level without cult building softening the ground for four decades first.

This, especially that last part.

There is no pathology in Trump that was not already a dominant trend in the Republican party in 2015.

The Republican establishment turned their party into a Trump-voting cesspit of Satan by deliberately making their voting base as stupid and vicious as possible.

If we ever do get out of this mess, it is crystal clear that the likes of Fox News and hate radio cannot be tolerated in a democracy, and since getting money out of politics is doomed to fail, that means the plutocracy must also be ended.

In my view, that part about ending the plutocracy is what's crippling the D response to R fascism and treason -- everyone in the trenches knows the plutocracy has to go, but the D donor class naturally thinks it knows better.