‘WHY?’: Trump Officials Worry He’s Making It Harder to Jail His Enemies
Donald Trump is bullying his own government to prosecute his political foes, whether or not there’s actually a criminal case. And it may already be backfiring.
A note from our editor-in-chief: It gives me great pleasure to introduce Zeteo subscribers to Asawin Suebsaeng and Andrew Perez, our new political reporting team, who have joined us from Rolling Stone magazine. They’re a well-connected scoop machine, and here is their first scoop, about how Trump may be undermining his own authoritarian project. Become a paid subscriber today to help support Zeteo as we grow and expand, and also to never have to worry about paywalls ever again!
-Mehdi
In his second term, President Donald Trump has made it a policy priority to criminally charge and imprison his political enemies, even if no real crime has been committed. It’s possible he’s too comically stupid or clumsy to pull it off though.
Unlike in his first term, virtually all of Trump’s top government officials are on board with this brazenly authoritarian project. However, some of them are concerned that Trump is actively, if accidentally, sabotaging his own efforts to jail people who pissed him off.
After the president publicly pleaded for the Justice Department to charge three of his political enemies, for instance, several Trump officials privately vented that his outburst could make it harder for his administration to charge, convict, and imprison his foes, three administration officials tell Zeteo.