‘Openly authoritarian campaign’: Trump’s threats of revenge fuel alarm

Trump's talk of seeking to weaponize' the DoJ and retribution' for opponents poses a direct threat to the rule of law and democracy in the US should he win a second term, experts say

Donald Trump's talk of punishing his critics and seeking to weaponize" the US justice department against his political opponents has experts and former DoJ officials warning he poses a direct threat to the rule of law and democracy in the US.

Trump's talk of seeking retribution" against foes, including some he's branded vermin", has coincided with plans that Maga loyalists at rightwing thinktanks are assembling to expand the president's power and curb the DoJ, the FBI and other federal agencies. All of it has fueled critics' fears that in a second term Trump would govern as an unprecedentedly authoritarian American leader.