Missing cues, Trump claims right to prosecute political enemies

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Watching Donald Trump’s interviews with Fox News’ Sean Hannity is a unique viewing experience. As we’ve discussed, the host is a close, longtime ally to the former president, so everyone watching understands that the Q&A will not be a contentious grilling. What makes their chats especially interesting, however, is Hannity’s eagerness to use their interviews to steer Trump in specific directions. It’s something viewers have seen the host do over and over and over again: Hannity has the Republican’s interests at heart, so he makes an effort to guide Trump to specific answers that the host believes will end up helping his friend politically. The trouble is, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee routinely ignores the cues. Late last year, for example, Hannity asked Trump if he had plans to “abuse power, to break the law, to use the government to go after people.” The obvious point was to have Trump say he had no intention of breaking the law or abusing his authority. The former president, however, missed the point and deflected. So, Hannity tried again to get his guest to say the sensible thing. “Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” the Fox host asked. Trump responded by saying he wanted to create a temporary American dictatorship. Last night, the duo tried again. It went about as well. “Will you pledge to restore equal justice, equal application of our laws, end this practice of weaponization?” the Fox host asked, pointing to developments that have no basis in reality. “Is that a promise you’re going to make?” Trump eventually responded, “Look, I know you want me to say something so nice, but I don’t want to look naive.” It was a rare look at the fourth wall: The former president explicitly acknowledged, out loud and on camera, that he was aware of Hannity’s efforts — though Trump wasn’t interested in the cue. In the same on-air appearance, the Fox host also noted those who “want people to believe that you want retribution, that you will use the system of justice to go after your political enemies.” Once again, the former president missed the prompt. “Look, when this election is over, based on what they have done, I would have every right to go after them,” Trump replied. Stepping back, the Republican’s candor is somewhat refreshing. It’s not exactly a secret that Trump lies uncontrollably about practically everything, and it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which he offered faux assurances to voters before the election, only to seek retaliatory vengeance against his perceived foes — who, in reality, have done nothing wrong — after Inauguration Day. But in this instance, he isn’t bothering with the pretense. Trump wants to prosecute his domestic political enemies, and he doesn’t seem especially interested in hiding his intentions. On the contrary, he talks about his desire to abuse presidential powers all the time. A New York Times analysis, published today, noted that Trump is effectively putting the rule of law “on the ballot.” Hannity wanted to help the former president take the issue off the ballot, but the GOP candidate, hellbent on revenge, simply wouldn’t help himself. This post updates our related earlier coverage.