Prominent Democrats and liberal media pundits have worried about being thrown in jail, “massive camps” and more if former President Trump wins in November.
“For that matter, what convinces you that these massive camps he’s planning are only for migrants? So, yes, I’m worried about me — but only as much as I’m worried about all of us,” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said during an interview with CNN’s Oliver Darcy in June.
Trump has alluded to revenge against his political enemies in recent interviews and told Dr. Phil that sometimes it could be “justified.” But he has also suggested his best reprisal could be success.
Maddow said she was worried about the country broadly and said Trump “is openly avowing that he plans to build camps to hold millions of people and to ‘root out’ what he’s described in subhuman terms as his ‘enemy from within.’”
The former president has also said he would “root out” the “communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”
Former CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter voiced similar concerns during a recent interview on his former network, but acknowledged that jail was an “extreme part of the spectrum.”
“But think about IRS audits, think about government pressure on media companies, think about other forms of government interference. There are a lot of pressure points. And frankly, Rachel Maddow is not the only member of the media thinking about this,” he said.
He said prominent members of the media were also expressing concern over what Trump could do to “punish the media.”
“The View” co-host Joy Behar asked Maddow about her concerns during an interview on Tuesday and agreed.
“I think that he is so vindictive that he will go after, however he has to, through the IRS maybe, or even through sponsors to get us off the air maybe, or you,” Behar said.
Maddow said she worried about the rest of the country as much as herself.
“I think it’s bad to have somebody saying ‘give me as much power as you can in this country so I can use it to go after other Americans, so I can use it to go after these subhuman internal enemies and I will destroy them.’ That’s just not a good system for anybody, and I don’t think anybody is safe if that’s the sort of basis on which he wants to get more power,” Maddow added.
She said if Trump decided to go after her or Behar, they would likely be fine, but argued there was a “pattern where he picks out individuals and effectively terrorizes them.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told podcast host Kara Swisher that she was concerned about Trump jailing her if he wins in November.
“I mean, it sounds nuts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy threw me in jail,” she said. “He’s out of his mind. I mean, he did his whole first campaign around ‘lock her up.’ This is his motto.”
“I take him at his word when he says that he’s going to round up people. I take him at his word when he threatens journalists. I take him at his word,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “I feel like what we saw in his first presidency was an amuse-bouche to what his intentions are. He has learned from his mistakes of appointing professionals, and he will not make that mistake next time.”
Other Democrats, particularly members of the Jan. 6 committee, also said they expect to be arrested if Trump is elected.
“My wife and I have had conversations about what life would look like if the worst happened,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told CBS News in April. “You can’t avoid the conversations about ‘What if?’ And I have to think about my own personal safety.”
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., also said he took jail threats seriously.
“My family has told me that they’re going to come to D.C. either way — and they’ll visit me, no matter where I am,” he mockingly told CBS News.
Trump said during a recent interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity that his critics shouldn’t expect retribution.
“Number one, they’re wrong,” Trump said. “It has to stop, because otherwise, we’re not going to have a country. Look, when this election is over, based on what they’ve done, I would have every right to go after them, and it’s easy, because it’s Joe Biden and you see all the criminality, all of the money that’s going into the family and him, all of this money from China, from Russia, from Ukraine.”
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace suggested she also might not be here next year should Trump be elected, arguing he may get rid of freedom of the press.
“Depending on what happens in November, seven months from now, we can’t say for certain that there would even be a White House Correspondents’ Dinner or even a free press or even a White House press corps. Right? You don’t have to have one. Could be another norm Trump blows up,” Wallace said in April while discussing President Biden’s remarks at the White House Correspondents’ dinner.
“While our democracy won’t exactly fall apart immediately without it, the real threat looms larger. A candidate with outward disdain not just for a free press, but for all of our freedoms and for the rule of law itself,” she continued.
During the dinner, Biden warned journalists to understand what was at stake in the upcoming election and spoke out against Trump’s “attack on our democracy.”
The co-hosts of “The View” also expressed concern in November over Trump possibly coming after them. They responded to the former president’s remarks during an interview with Univision, during which he said an alleged “weaponization”of the Justice Department “could certainly happen in reverse” if he’s elected.
“I don’t know, but if he’s weaponizing government against his opponents, boy, are we in trouble,” co-host Ana Navarro said at the time.
The co-hosts speculated who Trump might pursue, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Co-host Sunny Hostin added, “journalists.”
“Us. What about us?” Behar said before turning to the camera and adding, “Try it! Go ahead! Try it! We have this show every day! OK, Donald?”
