Thread by @windthin

1/26 I think it's time for a thread looking at Trump's Religion of Vengeance.

More than money, more than power, Trump has long had one rule that anybody who gets close to him learns to beware: he demands absolute loyalty, and if he does not get it, he seeks total vengeance.

2/26 The account above is by billionaire and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, from a blog he wrote in late 2016.

But Trump himself has said much the same. Take this article, also from 2016, full of quotes and videos where he states exactly so: motherjones.com/politics/2016/…

3/26 Trump makes it clear throughout that for him revenge is a way of life AND business.

Take this clip from 2011 where he gives a particular piece of advice at the National Achievers Congress in Sydney, Australia before belittling the host: via @YouTube

4/26 The most disturbing feature in the clip above is how much people cheer on his horrible behavior.

Trump is as notorious for his vindictiveness in business as he is for stiffing contractors and other creditors.
theweek.com/articles/78397…

5/26 These two Trump facets in fact go hand-in-hand.

Famously litigious, Trump frequently stiffs contractors, claims their work is inferior, refuses full or partial payment, and then tries to blackmail them into working for him again cheaply. wsj.com/articles/donal… via @WSJ

6/26 Such was the infamous case Edward Friel, a cabinet maker with a burgeoning business. When Trump made such an offer to him, he chose to fight.

Not only did Trump draw out the lawsuit, he ensured Friel was blackballed in the industry. via @YouTube

7/26 This meant Trump was able to punish his enemy & frighten others into not crossing him, to the point that many contractors created an up front "Trump tax" to recoup some of the losses they knew they would take. cnn.com/2016/09/13/pol…

8/26 Trump has often sued or otherwise tried to ruin business rivals, functionaries, and even friends over the smallest of things. Even the RUMOR that somebody has slighted him is enough for him to seek vengeance.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_aff…

9/26 He has sued newspapers, his ex-wife, a business card store in Georgia, former business partners, rivals, other businesses, and even a Native American tribe.

Trump often loses, settles, or drops the suits.

Often he threatens to sue and doesn't.

thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-s…

10/26 Take Marvin B. Roffman, a former securities analyst.

After rightly noting that Trump's business was built on shaky ground & his Taj Mahal Casino was likely to fail, Trump threatened to sue and bullied his company into firing him. nyti.ms/29u1HUx

11/26 Marvin Roffman was 100% right about the Taj Mahal folding -- it did so within a year.

He sued Trump, eventually netting him enough to start his own money management firm.

But Trump made his life hell first.

THAT was the point. politi.co/2XkO4v3 via @politicomag

12/26 One of Trump's go-to moves against his enemies is to threaten lawsuits, particularly libel lawsuits.

He has long urged the U.S. to make libel laws tougher so that he can sue more people, something he's re-iterated since taking office.

nytimes.com/2018/01/10/bus…

13/26 Another tactic is the use of draconian non-disclosure agreements and contracts that are as effective as chains against those who fall out of Trump's favor.

President Trump's non-disclosure agreements show a problem with loyalty bit.ly/2D0D90Y?utm_so…

14/26 The History Behind the NDAs Trump Wants to Weaponize

Trump’s Extreme nondisclosure agreements are draconian. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

15/26 Even his own daughter.

Tiffany Trump's child support payments would have been ended by Donald if she joined the military Peace Corps: Marla Maples prenup newsweek.com/tiffany-trump-…

16/26 And many of Trump's tactics are far darker than the legal hell of endless lawsuits.

Many forget that Michael Cohen, Trump's long-time personal lawyer, was also his fixer and used strongarm tactics against those who earned Trump's ire. nyti.ms/2OUBjTy

17/26 Trump's petty attacks against foreign leaders, celebrities, rivals, and even dead war hero and thorn in his side Sen. John McCain are certainly all rooted in his spiteful nature. nypost.com/2019/05/30/act…

18/26 The recent outing of Trump's vendetta against former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch also calls back all the times Trump has urged violence, from attacking protestors to police brutality to threats of execution.

Here's a whole thread on that:

https://twitter.com/windthin/status/1220816431585091584

19/26 Now that the GOP has turned Trump loose, he's going for broke.

Threatening to veto aid to Puerto Rico:...

pbs.org/newshour/natio…

20/26 ...punishing New Yorkers with travel gridlock for daring to defy his racist immigration policies...

New York sues Trump administration over Global Entry ban: It's 'political retribution' nbcnews.com/politics/donal… via @nbcnews

21/26 ...firing Lt. Col Vindman, his twin brother, & Gordon Sondland...

Trump’s Reprisals: Firing Witnesses, Punishing New York nyti.ms/2OIvI4V

22/26 ...and declaring open season on Mitt Romney through his proxy Matt Schlapp are only the beginning.
huffpost.com/entry/cpac-cha…

23/26 John Bolton certainly tops the Trump 'enemies list', with reports of potential litigation and charges against him. washex.am/2SdKvWh

24/26 And Trump and his underlings have made dangerous noises about coming reprisals against Democrats, including investigations and an attack at a National Prayer Breakfast meant to be about unity:

cnn.com/2020/02/06/pol…

25/26 This is a man who has waged a war against windmills and wind farms for over half a decade because Scotland dared to build some off the coast of one of his resorts.

Trump does not let go of grudges. Ever.
washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/styl…

26/26 Frank Figliuzzi was right and wrong in his recent comments about Trump's ongoing revenge spree: Trump's vengeance isn't over yet, but it's not merely a strategy.

Fro Donald J. Trump, revenge is the core of his very being.

It IS his religion.

msnbc.com/deadline-white…

There is supposed to be an "OR" between military and peace corps. I chalk it up to being a bit sick at present.

Speaking of revenge, Donnie is now going after the protesters in the Kremlin Annex by charging them outrageous fees.

I was honored to help work on the Kremlin Annex's 1 year anniversary promotion, so I am especially angered to learn this.

https://twitter.com/KremlinAnnex/status/1227075420933312513