'I hate my opponent': Trump's efforts to punish opponents intensify Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAYSeptember 23, 2025 at 4:06 AM 0 President Donald Trump has amped up pressure on his administration to punish longstanding rivals and political opposition, first on Sept.
- - 'I hate my opponent': Trump's efforts to punish opponents intensify
Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAYSeptember 23, 2025 at 4:06 AM
0
President Donald Trump has amped up pressure on his administration to punish longstanding rivals and political opposition, first on Sept. 20 by demanding that his attorney general go after them and then vowing the next day to target "radical left maniacs" at the Charlie Kirk memorial.
Speaking to tens of thousands of mourners who flocked to Arizona in remembrance of the slain 31-year-old activists, Trump pointed out that unlike Kirk, he dislikes his political foes.
"That's where I disagreed with Charlie," Trump said. "I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them."
1 / 6Charlie Kirk remembered in memorial service at State Farm StadiumA man wearing a MAGA hat holds his phone as people arrive to attend the public memorial service of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk outside State Farm stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on September 21, 2025.
These type of comments infuriate the president's detractors, who say it further divides the country.
And they are especially menacing on the heels of Trump asking Attorney General Pam Bondi by name in a Truth Social post to criminal charges against high-profile critics, such as former FBI Director James Comey; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The public pressure is another example, some legal observers say, of Trump eroding democratic norms, specifically the U.S. Department of Justice's tradition of independence.
"After months of denial, it has become undeniable that Donald Trump is weaponizing the government to attack his political opponents, silence his critics and neutralize large institutions that might challenge him," Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, a left-leaning organization focused on election litigation, said in a Sept. 22 newsletter.
"When we sound the alarm that he has turned the Department of Justice into his personal legal arsenal," Elias added, "we are told that he is simply shaking things up by disregarding customs and norms."
Asked about Trump's frustration that the attorney general hadn't made progress on prosecuting past foes, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt scoffed at the notion the agency is being politicized, before she quickly pivoted to slamming the previous administration.
"We are not going to tolerate gaslighting from anyone in the media or from anyone on the other side who is trying to say that it's the president who is weaponizing the (Department of Justice)," she said during the Sept. 22 briefing.
"It was Joe Biden and his attorney general who weaponized the DOJ," in reference to special prosecutor Jack Smith bringing charges against Trump for his role in fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot and his retention of classified documents after leaving office.
Trump has had 'bellyful' of excuses on prosecutions
President Donald Trump listens as Attorney General Pam Bondi answers reporters' questions in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 15, 2025, the same day she said on a podcast that the Justice Department "will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech."
Biden never directly called for Trump or any other Republican opponents to be prosecuted and then-Attorney General Merrick Garland only launched the investigation into Trump after the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6 publicly laid out evidence he may have obstructed justice in his efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat.
The appointment of Smith, a career prosecutor from outside the administration, was meant to prevent political interference.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump laid bare many of his intentions about being a tool of vengeance. He circulated Truth Social posts calling for military tribunals against former President Barack Obama, for instance.
Trump also shared with his followers other user's posts that called for indicting the House Jan. 6 committee and a post depicting rivals in jumpsuits, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The online flogging of Bondi this month harkens back to the first term where as president he regularly pressured and fired those who didn't do his bidding.
In 2019, for example, Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions after a year of intense and public scrutiny. He later turned on Attorney General William Barr, who left the first administration after declaring there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which Trump repeatedly claimed.
Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist for Trump who served a four-month prison sentence after defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee, hinted that the president wants action against those who went after him.
"We have to take this thing apart brick-by-brick and we have to do it now," Bannon said during a Sept. 22 episode of his podcast featuring Peter Navarro, a current White House trade advisor who also served prison time for defying a House subpeona.
"Finally President Trump, God bless him, had a bellyful of it," he added.
"All the excuses, all the tapping along... dropped the hammer and said: Hey look, I love you, but hey these guys are still walking the face of the Earth -- why?"
Just last week, the president said he "fired" Erik Siebert, the acting U.S. attorney overseeing the criminal mortgage fraud investigation into James who informed the Department of Justice that his inquiry found insufficient evidence to pursue charges.
"Trump's directive to AG Bondi—indict my political enemies—shows how low he's sunk and how high the danger," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said in a Sept. 22 post on X. "Tyranny is here, not on the horizon, if such abjectly abusive prosecutions are permitted."
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been one of the few GOP lawmakers who appears squeamish about this direction. He said during a Sept. 21 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" that while he believes the Biden administration shouldn't have prosecuted Trump -- which conservatives dubbed "lawfare" during the 2024 campaign -- it isn't right for Trump to be overtly calling for a prosecution of opponents either.
"We need to get politics out of the judicial system as much as we can," Paul said.
Supporters within the Make America Great Again movement, fueled in part by anger over Kirk's stunning assassination, have mostly scoffed at these criticisms, however. The individuals Trump is calling out, the White House and its MAGA allies say, abused their power to keep him from returning to the presidency.
"The president has every right to express how he feels about these people who literally campaigned on trying to put him in jail, who literally tried to ruin his life and ruin his businesses," Leavitt said.
Comey led the investigation into alleged ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia – which found no collusion. He was fired by Trump in May 2017.
Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel from "The Man Show" appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2001.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/URveQMI class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel from "The Man Show" appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2001.
">Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel from "The Man Show" appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2001.
" src=https://ift.tt/URveQMI class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmell sits at a late night host practice desk and interviews with "TRL" host Carson Daly in New York on Jan. 14, 2003.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/3pDqWcV class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmell sits at a late night host practice desk and interviews with "TRL" host Carson Daly in New York on Jan. 14, 2003.
">Jimmy Kimmell sits at a late night host practice desk and interviews with "TRL" host Carson Daly in New York on Jan. 14, 2003.
" src=https://ift.tt/3pDqWcV class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman during 2nd annual Lakers Casino Night Benefiting the Lakers Youth Foundation red carpet at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, in 2005.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/UfJvLng class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman during 2nd annual Lakers Casino Night Benefiting the Lakers Youth Foundation red carpet at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, in 2005.
">Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman during 2nd annual Lakers Casino Night Benefiting the Lakers Youth Foundation red carpet at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, in 2005.
" src=https://ift.tt/UfJvLng class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel speaks onstage during the American Cinematheque 24th annual awards show to honor Matt Damon at The Beverly Hilton on March 27, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/sfrtPoJ class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel speaks onstage during the American Cinematheque 24th annual awards show to honor Matt Damon at The Beverly Hilton on March 27, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California.
">Jimmy Kimmel speaks onstage during the American Cinematheque 24th annual awards show to honor Matt Damon at The Beverly Hilton on March 27, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California.
" src=https://ift.tt/sfrtPoJ class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel and Emily Blunt onstage during the 16th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Jan. 14, 2011.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/wybvhVT class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel and Emily Blunt onstage during the 16th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Jan. 14, 2011.
">Jimmy Kimmel and Emily Blunt onstage during the 16th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Jan. 14, 2011.
" src=https://ift.tt/wybvhVT class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel and Flavor Flav at the American Music Awards in 2006.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/Qs76bIH class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel and Flavor Flav at the American Music Awards in 2006.
">Jimmy Kimmel and Flavor Flav at the American Music Awards in 2006.
" src=https://ift.tt/Qs76bIH class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel and NBA player Kobe Bryant in 2013.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/i4VtYFj class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel and NBA player Kobe Bryant in 2013.
">Jimmy Kimmel and NBA player Kobe Bryant in 2013.
" src=https://ift.tt/i4VtYFj class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney in New York City in 2014.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/083m2yL class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney in New York City in 2014.
">Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney in New York City in 2014.
" src=https://ift.tt/083m2yL class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel, John Stamos and comedian Don Rickles in Beverly Hills, California, in 2015.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/1BkHW0E class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel, John Stamos and comedian Don Rickles in Beverly Hills, California, in 2015.
">Jimmy Kimmel, John Stamos and comedian Don Rickles in Beverly Hills, California, in 2015.
" src=https://ift.tt/1BkHW0E class=caas-img>President Barack Obama talks with Jimmy Kimmel during a taping of his late-night talk show in 2015.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/5Ln7OvR class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
President Barack Obama talks with Jimmy Kimmel during a taping of his late-night talk show in 2015.
">President Barack Obama talks with Jimmy Kimmel during a taping of his late-night talk show in 2015.
" src=https://ift.tt/5Ln7OvR class=caas-img>Hillary Clinton appears on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show in 2016.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/s7DkAFz class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Hillary Clinton appears on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show in 2016.
">Hillary Clinton appears on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show in 2016.
" src=https://ift.tt/s7DkAFz class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel, wife Molly McNearney and daughter Jane Kimmel attend the 7th annual L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade at UCLA on Sept. 10, 2016, in Los Angeles.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/7pNv5wr class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel, wife Molly McNearney and daughter Jane Kimmel attend the 7th annual L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade at UCLA on Sept. 10, 2016, in Los Angeles.
">Jimmy Kimmel, wife Molly McNearney and daughter Jane Kimmel attend the 7th annual L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade at UCLA on Sept. 10, 2016, in Los Angeles.
" src=https://ift.tt/7pNv5wr class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel attends the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Lionel Richie at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 13, 2016 in Los Angeles.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/Vnygjad class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel attends the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Lionel Richie at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 13, 2016 in Los Angeles.
">Jimmy Kimmel attends the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Lionel Richie at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 13, 2016 in Los Angeles.
" src=https://ift.tt/Vnygjad class=caas-img>
Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel present the award for lead actress in a comedy series during the 71st Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sept. 22, 2019.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/Hqg2cTA class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel present the award for lead actress in a comedy series during the 71st Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sept. 22, 2019.
">Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel present the award for lead actress in a comedy series during the 71st Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sept. 22, 2019.
" src=https://ift.tt/Hqg2cTA class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel court side at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2023.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/Qe6hz4b class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel court side at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2023.
">Jimmy Kimmel court side at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2023.
" src=https://ift.tt/Qe6hz4b class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel delivers the opening monologue during the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/KhPg71x class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel delivers the opening monologue during the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.
">Jimmy Kimmel delivers the opening monologue during the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.
" src=https://ift.tt/KhPg71x class=caas-img>Jimmy Kimmel watches the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 25, 2024.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/PbgGhce class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel watches the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 25, 2024.
">Jimmy Kimmel watches the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 25, 2024.
" src=https://ift.tt/PbgGhce class=caas-img>
Jimmy Kimmel, winner of the outstanding host for a game show award for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," attends the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on Sept. 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" data-src=https://ift.tt/0upBCR7 class=caas-img data-headline="Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension" data-caption="
Jimmy Kimmel, winner of the outstanding host for a game show award for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," attends the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on Sept. 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.
">Jimmy Kimmel, winner of the outstanding host for a game show award for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," attends the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on Sept. 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" src=https://ift.tt/0upBCR7 class=caas-img>
1 / 21Most memorable Jimmy Kimmel moments as his show returns to air after suspension
Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel from "The Man Show" appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2001.
Schiff, one of Trump's most vocal Democratic critics, led the first impeachment effort against the president over his 2019 communication with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
James is suing the Trump administration over cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services and executive actions on elections that she says are unconstitutional. She secured a half-billion dollar civil fraud judgment against Trump last year, though the penalty was later thrown out by an appeals court.
What would the president would do if Bondi, who has been slammed by key MAGA figures on various issues this year, cannot find enough evidence to bring a case? Leavitt declined to say on the grounds that it's a hypothetical, but she told reporters that Trump stands with his attorney general "100%" adding that is how feels "at this moment in time."
Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, Bart Jansen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Take this thing apart': with allies backing, Trump to punish foes
Source: "AOL AOL Politics"
Source: FORTE MAG
Full Article on Source: FORTE MAG
#LALifestyle #USCelebrities