Trump Is Running “A Campaign of Revenge and Retribution” and Many Americans Have No Clue: ABC’s Jon Karl

William FurneyNov 8, 2023

Minute Read

A second Trump presidency might open the floodgates for the embattled billionaire to exact “revenge” on all those who have crossed him, ABC News political reporter Jonathan Karl has warned.

White House Machinations

Speaking on Good Morning America, the network’s chief Washington correspondent suggested that either voters were clueless about what Trump might get up to if he were back in the White House or simply didn’t care.

Presidential ‘Revenge’

Karl said on the TV show: “I don’t think voters have come to terms with what [Trump] is talking about doing. He’s talking about a campaign of revenge and retribution.”

‘Prosecute Political Opponents’

The ABC reporter continued with his thoughts about another Trump presidency, saying: “He wants to go out and prosecute his political opponents. Not just Democrats, but people who served him. John Kelly, his former chief of staff; Mattis, his former defense secretary; Bill Barr, his former attorney general.”

Battleground States

The reporter was speaking as new polling was released showing Trump, a Republican, had made significant gains in key battleground states, putting him ahead in five out of six over his likely rival, Democrat Joe Biden.

‘Trump Can Win’

Karl said of the polling on Good Morning America: “This is a wake-up call. This is frightening for not just the Biden White House, not just for Democrats, but for anybody who fears what a return to a Trump presidency would mean. He can win.”

An Authoritarian Trump Presidency?

The reporter continued: “He’s talking about invoking the Insurrection Act on day one, using American troops on the streets of US cities, something he tried to do when he was president last time but he was stopped by his own people.”

‘Radical’ Second Term

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The journalist suggested a second Trump term could be even more chaotic than the first. He said “this would be a very radical Trump presidency, much more so than even the first one.”

Supportive Trump Reaction

Many who reacted to the journalist’s views on a second Trump presidency were in support of Trump and blasted the reporter as a leftist. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Matt Werner said, referring to the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost: “Return to Trump would mean that American voters would finally get the second Trump term that we voted for in 2020.”

Reporter ‘Bias’

Another X user, under the name Find the Truth, said: “The unabashed bias of these leftist ‘journalists’ is more shocking than the poll results.”

‘Can’t Wait for Trump Presidency’

Still another person on X, going by the handle ArkansasWesterner, said sarcastically and in reference to the Trump-initiated immigration wall along the southern US border: “Sitting over here terrified of the return of a great economy, more peace accords, more tax dollars spent on US soil, finishing the wall and closing the southern border and cheap energy. Literally shaking.”

Trump the GOP Frontrunner

Trump, 77, is around 50 points ahead of his Republican nomination hopefuls in national polling, making him almost certain to be the party’s candidate following primaries in January. His popularity among GOP voters comes as the former president is fighting off four indictments that carry a total of 91 criminal charges and could see him jailed.

Many Legal Problems

Trump has been indicted over the 2020 election and for allegedly trying to overturn the result and block the transfer of presidential power to Joe Biden — he is facing charges at federal and state level, in Georgia. The other indictments related to his handling of sensitive government documents and a hush money case. He is also fighting a civil case in New York City that has already found his Trump organization committed years of fraud. Prosecutors in that case are seeking a fine of at least $250 million.

Karl Book Tired of Winning

ABC’s Karl is also promoting a new book he has written that will be released later in November, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party.

Trump Age Concern

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Many are worried about President Biden’s 80 years and apparent frailty after a series of gaffes and stumbles, but the ABC reporter suggested that Trump, just a few years younger, was also encountering age-related issues.

Trump ‘Confused’

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Karl said on the This Week program: “We talk about Biden’s age a lot … Trump has become also increasingly confused about things. He confuses basic facts, says some rather strange things, but there isn’t much attention paid.”