Trump’s tactics for vengeance if he becomes president again are now clear

The fallout from Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 charges turned out to be manifold, but one of the main takeaways was it allowed for Republicans to play out their revenge fantasies.

On Thursday, Trump told television psychologist Dr Phil in an interview that “sometimes revenge can be justified.” During the same show, the former president and the television host both pleaded for the investigations into Trump to stop.

In fairness, most Republican actions — particularly in the House of Representatives and on the state level — could be interpreted as an act of revenge these days. That’s because most of them feel Trump was wronged by the “Deep State” and Democrats, and that the multiple investigations and two impeachments are somehow proof of that.

But Trump has not been shy about his very personal desire for revenge. Indeed, he’s said that: “I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” Republicans’ failed impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden can best be understood through the lens of retribution since the GOP has mostly failed to produce any evidence of wrongdoing.

Now that the de facto head of the Republican Party has notched a criminal conviction, Republicans have removed even the pretense that they will focus on doing anything except exacting vengeance.

Trump largely lost the 2020 election on the back of his poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In turn, Republicans have sought to find another culprit for the virus raging across the country in 2020.

That would explain why Republicans’ hearing on Monday, where they brought Anthony Fauci to testify — after he had already testified behind closed doors — after accusing him of funding research that led to the Covid