Trump’s extreme rhetoric is a mainstay of his 2024 campaign. Much of it could become a reality if he wins another term

In the more than 370 days between his first indictment and his first criminal trial, Donald Trump unleashed rhetorical warfare as predictable as it was extreme.

In the more than 370 days between his first indictment and his first criminal trial, Donald Trump unleashed rhetorical warfare as predictable as it was extreme. The familiar slash and burn playbook, sharpened over decades in business and eight years in politics, has shaped an overlapping public defense and political message at an unprecedented moment of legal peril. But the volume and repetition – always repetition, longtime allies note – obscures a stark reality. For a former president who has unapologetically shattered norms with an unrelenting message of grievance, vengeance and retribution targeting those who stand in the way of his policy and political ambitions, the rhetoric is far from empty. Trump emerged from the Republican primary – where he bulldozed his opponents – supported by a policy and personnel infrastructure designed to turn his rhetoric into reality. His pledge to direct Justice Department investigations is backed by allies who view his second term as driven by a maximalist theory of a president’s authority.