"We're all afraid . . . " Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told a gathering of nonprofit and tribal leaders in her home state on April 14. "We are in a time and a place where I have not been before. I am oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real — and that's not right."
Murkowski, one of few Republican senators to have publicly opposed President Donald Trump, was voicing concern about his administration's wide-ranging effort to seek revenge against a lengthy list of individuals perceived as political enemies. The New York Times listed more than 50 individuals who have been "targeted for retribution" by the Trump administration. The president and his appointees have attacked these people by firing them, stripping them of Secret Service protection and security clearances, ordering federal investigations against them and even threatening criminal prosecution.
The list of Trump's targets includes former President Joe Biden, his son, Hunter Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as members of the first Trump administration who later turned against him such as John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.
Nixon and his "hatchet man"
Trump isn't the first modern president to assemble a list of political enemies to be targeted for revenge. After he won the presidency in 1968, Nixon spent hours plotting revenge against his enemies. Ken Hughes, a researcher with the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, as well as the author of two books on Nixon, said there were three groups Nixon fixated on in particular: Jews, Ivy Leaguers and intellectuals. "He believes that members of all those groups are arrogant, and that they put themselves above the law."
In 1971, Charles Colson, a special counsel, known as Nixon's "hatchet man," organized a 20-person list soon approved by John Dean, then chief White House counsel. Dean wrote a confidential memorandum addressing "how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies." The planned methods included leveraging IRS tax audits, phone-tapping, the cancellation of contracts and even criminal prosecution.
Colson's roster featured a diverse group of adversaries: two Democratic congressmen, several reporters, a labor leader, as well as the actor Paul Newman.
On June 17, 1972, a team of burglars was arrested at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. The five-member team, nicknamed "the plumbers," was created by the Nixon White House to conduct espionage against perceived foes. After the arrest, the White House stopped harassing opponents and began the long, complicated cover-up of its covert espionage operations.
"I am oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said.
In June 1973, during the opening days of the Senate Watergate Hearings, John Dean revealed the list of "enemies," which had by then expanded to a file "several inches thick." There was bipartisan shock and disgust at the existence of the administration's organized effort to silence political opponents. William F. Buckley, a leading conservative and the editor of The National Review, wrote that the "stealth and brutality" made it "an act of proto-fascism."
Because he faced several major restraints, Nixon moved slowly in taking retaliatory actions. For his entire six years in office, the Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress. He was also faced with a powerful and often critical media. The three TV news networks then in existence — ABC, CBS and NBC — all fielded skilled reporters who questioned Nixon directly and cultivated leads in the administration. The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for its fearless reporting on the Watergate scandal.
"There's way too much retribution"
Trump has no such restraints. Today, he enjoys Republican control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as something Nixon could have only dreamed of: the unconditional support of Fox News, the most-watched TV news outlet. Not to mention the small universe of radio talk show hosts, podcasters and social media personalities who relentlessly cheer Trump on and spew vitriol at liberal opponents.
In contrast to Nixon's secret planning, Trump has been boasting about how he would retaliate against his enemies since his first presidential campaign. In 2016, he vowed to prosecute his Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clintion. Trump applauded as crowds of supporters chanted, "Lock her up! Lock her up!" After winning his first election, however, he ultimately did not pursue any legal action against Clinton.
Rick Wilson, a veteran Republican campaign advisor, now a vocal Trump critic, compared the two presidents vengeful instincts. "Richard Nixon is typically considered the modern exemplar of a dark and vindictive president," Wilson wrote for The Daily Beast in 2016. "President Trump would be Nixon minus the keen intellect and work ethic."
Amid his 2020 campaign, Trump made more than 100 threats against his political opponents. During his 2024 campaign, he repeatedly ranted against Biden. A year prior, he told supporters, "I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family." Trump would later amplify false allegations of Rep. Lynne Cheney, R-Wyo. — then the head of a committee investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021 — being a traitor who should face a military tribunal.
In the first 100 days of his administration, Trump has wasted no time taking action against his perceived enemies, including prominent universities, major media outlets and top law firms. He has drastically cut budgets and reportedly fired at least 121,000 workers across 30 federal agencies.
The Washington Post reported on April 10 that Trump had crossed "the Rubicon" when he ordered federal investigations of two senior executives from his first administration. The two former security officials, Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor, had spoken out against Trump's false claims of a stolen election in 2020. Most observers expect Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has displayed fierce loyalty to Trump, to follow through.
The courts, the third branch of government, remain as one possible check against Trump's campaign of political suppression. So far, the administration has been hit with more 100 lawsuits. On April 19, the Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration, halting the deportation of Venezuelan migrants.
Another factor may be the public's increasing disenchantment with Trump. Noting his falling approval ratings, Karl Rove, the chief political advisor to former President George W. Bush, observed in an April 16 Wall Street Journal editorial that the nation is experiencing "Trump fatigue." "There's way too much retribution," he warned. "Most of the president's revenge attempts will end badly for him. Republicans could rue the day they set a new justification for retaliation from Democrats."
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