The story of the Trump administration, as usual, is a continuation of the ugliest chapters of our past.
Afrasienet - Revenge is Trump's priorities, drives his actions, and determines his government's decisions. This is evident when Trump employs the weight of the federal government against Americans who defy his will.Source:
The New York Times publishes an article on "Trump's Passion for Revenge", reviewing two instances on which he exerted his influence to take revenge, leading to the war he launched on Iran, and asks: What if Trump is really stuck, completely trapped in a trap he made himself?
The following is the text of the article:
The main goal of President Trump's second term is revenge. This passion for revenge is possessed by Trump, and this passion has overshadowed the first moments of his second term. Within hours of his inauguration, as reported in the book "Regime Change: Inside Donald Trump's Imperial Presidency," the president "withdrew security protections" from Gen.
Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others he considered disloyal, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and a secretary of state. Former defenseman Mark Esper."
Retaliation against aides and officials who have curbed Trump's worst tendencies. Revenge against the bureaucrats and "deep state" agents who have confronted his violations of the law. Revenge against the prosecutors who have filed lawsuits against him, and the judges who ruled in their favor. Revenge on the few Republicans who voted to impeach and convict him, and those who abandoned him after January 6. Finally, revenge on the American people for rejecting him in 2020, and for dealing a severe blow to his pride.
Let's take the example of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. He was supposed to disappear – illegally transferred to a foreign prison and left to suffer as part of the administration's harsh deportation program, but with the help of his family, lawyers, and lawmakers, Abrego Garcia resisted.
Not only did he successfully appeal his deportation and detention, but he also obtained a unanimous decision from the Supreme Court, which ordered the federal government to facilitate his return to the United States. Shortly thereafter, the Justice Department announced that he had been criminally charged, and he was imprisoned again.
He also resisted this. In May, a judge dismissed the criminal case against him.
Revenge shapes Trump's priorities, drives his actions, and determines his government's decisions. This is evident when Trump uses the weight of the federal government against Americans who defy his will.
The White House's insistence on going after Abrego García might have made sense if he had been a criminal mastermind who posed a threat to public order. But he wasn't. He was just an ordinary person, a working member of his own community, an easy victim of the president's deportation machine.
It was meant to be an example to follow, a warning to migrants, whether they are legal or illegal residents, to leave the country or endure the consequences. By challenging the administration and winning in court, Abrego García threatened the president's program. He was a symbol of defiance in the face of Trump's authoritarian abuse of power.
That's why the Trump administration has not backed down. As a White House adviser put it last year, "The last thing you want to do here is contribute to a series of decisions that suddenly force you to admit your mistake in everything."
Trump tried to crush Abrego Garcia, and when he failed, he made punishing him for resisting his government a priority. This was not so much a political plan as it was an obsession. Notably, Trump has not yet given up; his Justice Department has asked the appeals court to reinstate criminal charges against Abrego Garcia.
Abrego Garcia is not alone. For most of the summer, Trump has waged a campaign of retaliation against David Hearn, a former Olympic rower. Hearn has been accused of vandalizing the reflective pool of water at the Lincoln Memorial, which is in poor condition following the president's attempts to restore it.
Several months earlier, Trump had announced a plan to paint the pool floor blue, in line with his vision for the national arena. He awarded a no-tender contract to a Virginia-based company, which proceeded to insulate and paint the pool. After it was done, Trump led his presidential motorcade through the empty pool in a victory parade. Shortly afterwards, the pool filled up and the problem began.
The blue paint trapped the heat, the heat stimulated algae growth, and the reflective pool of water quickly turned green. The White House could do nothing about it. At the same time, the misapplication of the new paint caused the floor to peel off, with pieces floating to the surface.
Unable to take responsibility for his mistakes and failures, Trump blamed unknown vandals, apparently ordering the Justice Department to indict them. Hearn was indicted by a grand jury on federal sabotage charges, and arrested, but there was no evidence that Hearn had done anything wrong, rather the problems in the pool were caused by poor work and poor quality control. Even the Justice Department was forced to admit that the damage was done It was the result of a "defective installation."
The U.S. Attorney General in Washington, D.C., Jeanine Perrault, dropped the charges. This infuriated Trump. Trump wrote: "I completely disagree with Janine Perrault, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the reflective water pool. I don't know what was on her mind?" he wants a trial. He wants revenge.
Trump is not the first influential figure to exploit the federal government's law enforcement powers for narrow interests and petty grievances; Richard Nixon has previously pitted both the FBI and the IRS against his political opponents. J. Edgar Hoover, as director of the FBI, also used his power to wage what could be considered a personal campaign against the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom he saw as a dangerous saboteur.
The story of the Trump administration, as always, is a continuation of the ugliest chapters of our past. Yet, this continuity exists alongside renewal.
Both Nixon and Hoover hid their excesses of power under the pretext of necessity and national interest. They pretended to abide by the rules and norms of constitutional government, while viewing them as obstacles to their authority. Despite their indulgence in vice, they pretended to be virtuous.
Trump doesn't do that. He doesn't see himself as a man who holds office and heads a government, as much as he sees himself as the government itself. The state is an extension of his person. He's the king, and it's one of his entities.
There is no apparent national interest behind the campaigns against Abrego García or Hern. They are personal campaigns, made entirely of Trump's grievances, his desire for revenge, and his urgent need to soothe his psychological wounds.
There are no doubt true believers within this administration, from executive power fanatical Russell Vogt to far-right Stephen Miller, but the man in power has no such ambitions. He's there only for his own self-interest. His government's main goal, as he sees it, is self-glorification — a desperate quest to save his face and take revenge on anyone who might undermine his sense of self.
Hence Trump's failed war with Iran — a military failure and a catastrophic strategic mistake. There is no clear plan to end the conflict, just futile efforts by a desperate president to shake off the bitterness of defeat. This is the essence of sham negotiations and incessant missile strikes: an attempt to end the war without losing it. An honorable peace, this time closer to farce.
The danger, of course, lies in what will happen if there is no way out. What if Trump is really stuck, completely trapped in a trap he made himself?
With the immense power of the United States, the thought of what he might do to save what is left of his fragile self is terrifying. He has already tried to destroy the country in an attempt to take revenge on anyone who challenges his ego and authority.
________________
