Thread by @TomDreisbach

NEW:

We reviewed Trump’s speeches, interviews, and social media posts since 2022 and found that he has made more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, jail or otherwise punish his opponents, whom he sometimes calls “the enemy from within.”

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First and foremost, Trump targets his political opponents.

If he wins the presidential election, he has promised to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate President Biden and Biden’s family on his first day in office.

Now that Vice President Harris is his opponent, Trump said she should also be “impeached and prosecuted.”

On Truth Social, Trump has reposted calls for Barack Obama and Liz Cheney to face military tribunals.

Trump suggested that former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley could face the death penalty. (Milley has since called Trump a “fascist,” per journalist Bob Woodward.)

Then there are the participants in Trump’s trials. Trump has targeted the prosecutors, judges, and even a court staffer.

On Truth Social, he floated the idea that a member of the Georgia grand jury that indicted him should be prosecuted.

Last year, Glenn Beck asked Trump if he would lock people up if he wins the election.

Trump said yes, and indicated it would be justified because of the four criminal cases brought against him since leaving office.

Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon rioters charged and convicted for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

“The cops should be charged and the protesters should be freed,” reads a post Trump reposted on Truth Social.

At a rally, Trump said people who protest and criticize the Supreme Court “should be put in jail.”

And he has said that journalists should be imprisoned if they refuse to give up the sources of government leaks. He appeared to suggest that journalists could also face sexual assault in jail.

Another target of Trump’s threats: election workers.

These threats come in the context of Trump and Sen. JD Vance’s comments pushing back on restrictions on presidential power.

Vance told an interviewer prior to the campaign that Trump should ignore the courts if they stop him from replacing civil servants with loyalists.

These are just some examples out of more than 100.

You can read our full story - with comments from @ianbassin @rgoodlaw @OMGrisham @AdamKinzinger and response from the RNC - here: npr.org/2024/10/21/nx-…

@ianbassin @rgoodlaw @OMGrisham @AdamKinzinger Some Trump allies and supporters have downplayed Trump’s comments as campaign rhetoric and bluster.

But some, like this person who responded to our story, have a different take.

@ianbassin @rgoodlaw @OMGrisham @AdamKinzinger This is another defense that Trump's allies have made: That he did not go after his rivals and opponents in his first term.

As we detail in the story, that is false.