Trump is doubling down on his threat to take 'revenge' on 'critics and opponents': analysis

Critics of 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump — from conservative Never Trumper Tom Nichols to liberal Mother Jones reporter David Corn — have been warning that a second Trump term would be even more dangerous than the first and would push the United States into full-fledged authoritarianism. Trump, they warn, has made no secret of his desire to imprison political opponents if he becomes the nominee and defeats Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden next year.

MSNBC's Steve Benen has similar warnings in a MaddowBlog opinion column published on November 10. Trump, Benen emphasizes, is obsessed with "revenge" against his political opponents — and he is only doubling down.

"There's been quite a bit of reporting in recent weeks about Donald Trump, members of his inner circle, and the behind-the-scenes plotting for how they'd use power if elected next year," Benen explains. "The Republicans' plans are centered around a straightforward goal: revenge. As The Washington Post reported this week, the former president and his allies 'have begun mapping out specific plans for using the federal government to punish critics and opponents should he win a second term.'"

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Trump, Benen adds, "isn't making much of an effort to hide his intentions."

During a recent interview with Univision, Benen notes, Trump threatened that the criminal indictments he is facing could "certainly happen in reverse."

On October 7, 2020, Politico's Kyle Cheney reported that Trump was disappointed that then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr wasn't locking up his political opponents — and Trump, according to Benen, hasn't grown any less authoritarian since then.

"Trump isn't preparing a new retaliatory plan," Benen argues. "Trump is instead preparing to pick up where he left off.

READ MORE: 'Fascism': Critics warn after Trump says he could order DOJ indictments against opponents

Read Steve Benen's full MSNBC column at this link.