Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who worked in the Trump administration, warned in a Tuesday interview that the public is not taking former President Trump’s threats of revenge seriously enough.
“I don’t think enough people are,” Bolton said in an interview on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour,” when asked whether people take the threats seriously enough.
“When you hear Trump saying things like, ‘People are saying that I’m – that retribution can be justified,’ what he really means is: ‘I’m saying retribution can be justified,’” Bolton added. “And I think he’s got a long list of adversaries he wants to go after.”
Trump – who was criminally indicted four times after leaving office, including in two federal cases – has frequently signaled an interest in going after his political opponents if he retakes the White House, telling his supporters frequently at his rallies ahead of the campaign launch, “I am your retribution.”
Bolton said he worries the federal judiciary will be put “under real pressure” if Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, is elected to a second term in office.
“But I think the Justice Department under a Trump administration will be in continuing chaos, as he tells his political appointees to go after Mr. X or Ms. Y, whether there are grounds to do it or not. And what those lawyers do will tell you a lot about their legal integrity,” he said.
Trump was found guilty last month by a jury on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal alleged affairs during his 2016 campaign. It makes him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony.
The former president has railed against his legal woes, calling it “election interference” and claiming it is being orchestrated by the Biden White House. There is no evidence President Biden, or his aides have had any involvement in Trump’s legal cases.
In an interview on “Dr. Phil” late last week, Trump pushed back at the host’s suggestion that Trump didn’t have time to “get even” with his critics.
“Well, revenge does take time, I will say that. And sometimes revenge can be justified, Phil, I have to be honest. Sometimes it can,” Trump responded in the interview.
“I think the country is really worse for what they’ve done, and I think you see that when you look at the poll numbers,” Trump continued. “When you see that almost $400 million has poured in since this horrible decision was made. That was a few days ago. Numbers that nobody’s ever heard of in politics before. It’s a great honor. The people of our country get it.”
Following the verdict, Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity he would have “every right to go after them” after his own prosecution.
The former president told Newsmax last week it was “very possible” Democrats could face prosecution down the road.