Trump's strong fixation on 'revenge' is a 'fundamental character trait': analyst

Recent reports of Donald Trump's plan to exact revenge in his second term are both old news and incredibly important, according to a longtime analyst of American politics.

It was reported last week that Trump is formally plotting a vengeance campaign if he's re-elected to another term as president, and a Washington Post reporter explained how he's surrounding himself with authoritarian accomplices.

In a Mother Jones piece, David Corn wrote the following:

"A few days ago, the Washington Post published a much-noticed article reporting that Trump and his allies 'have begun mapping out specific plans for using the federal government to punish critics and opponents should he win a second term, with the former president naming individuals he wants to investigate or prosecute.' That list includes people who worked for him and became critics, including former chief of staff John Kelly, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as President Joe Biden and Biden’s family. The piece—headlined 'Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term'—caused a to-do, with commentators pointing to it as more evidence of Trump’s extremism and authoritarian yearnings."

He added:

"This was important news for the Washington Post to expose. But, in a way, it’s an old story, though one that has never sufficiently registered. Trump has always been fixated on revenge. This is a dangerous and fundamental character trait that I’ve been trying to draw attention to for a long while."

Corn provides several examples of Trump vowing revenge long before even his first presidential run. According to Corn, Trump said in 2007 that his business advice was to "get even" with "people that screw you."

"As I pointed out back then, Trump is a man completely obsessed with revenge," Corn then added. "It’s a psychological compulsion that possibly stretches back to his childhood. And it’s long been hypothesized that Trump primarily ran for president in 2016 to get even with Barack Obama, after the 44th president roasted him at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner."

Read the article here.