No mercy

I was suspicious of Trump early in his first candidacy, but those concerns were quickly dispelled. It was easy: I compared what the press said about him to what he actually said and did. It was no contest. The press was lying. Even when there was no conceivable advantage, they lied. They lied about his hair of all things, suggesting it was a toupee, and exaggerated his skin color, calling it “orange”.

My concern had nothing to do with any of the press stories. I didn’t understand how any builder in New York City, Chicago, and Atlantic City could build anything without mafia ties. Sammy the Bull Gravano, a Gambino crime family underboss, explained that it was impossible to extort Trump. He tried, but failed. According to Gravano, Trump is “a legitimate guy”.

Considering how impossible it proved for any of Trump’s enemies to come up with any dirt on him, I believe Gravano. Regardless, Trump’s enemies attacked him any way they could. There were two assassination attempts. Trump’s friends, family, colleagues, and supporters were also attacked. The attacks were mendacious cowardly things, meant to destroy, but only possible because they had rigged the system so thoroughly that Trump’s enemies were immune from harm.

It was like watching a naked gladiator in a Roman arena, surrounded by jeering crowds, as he is circled by dozens of drooling wild animals. It was unfair in the extreme, unwarranted, and thoroughly repulsive. And yet, the gladiator won. Trump beat the cheat and returned to office in 2025. I felt like I’d just watched Daniel walk out of the lion’s den. He hadn’t just been saved, he was saved by divine providence. By God.

It has now been almost a year since Trump began his second term. After a flurry of initial excitement, Trump supporters began grousing about the pace of his administration. Yes, they had made progress. DOGE had caught and stopped massive amounts of fraud, wasteful government agencies had been closed, many untrustworthy government employees had been fired, the Russia Hoax files were released, and the administration was winning more often than not at the Supreme Court. Despite this, there had been no arrests.

That is, although there have been indictments—James Comey for lying to Congress, Letitia James for mortgage fraud, and John Bolton for mishandling classified documents—the Comey and James cases were dismissed in November when a Clinton-appointed judge ruled that the prosecutor had been unlawfully appointed. Bolton's case remains pending. But even if all three had been convicted, the charges don't come close to the severity of treason, and all three may well be guilty of that also.

Here is why I don’t think Trump has forgotten how evil his enemies are, and why I think he has no intention of forgiving them: he had his mugshot framed and hung in the Oval Office. He did that almost as soon as he resumed his position as President of the United States. That photo is an indictment of the people who caused it to be made. Every person who conspired to frame Trump on phony charges, is indicted and found guilty by that photo. And they have to see it if they want to see the President.

Trump has gone further. A little later, after the autopen scandal broke, he had Joe Biden’s portrait in the hall of presidents replaced with a photo of an autopen. A little later, he had plaques mounted below the presidential portraits. The plaques under the autopen portrait (Joe Biden) and that of Barack Obama, read like the basis for a prosecution of both for treason.

Anyone who enters the Oval Office sees the mug shot, and every White House visitor who walks through the Hall of Presidents sees what are essentially charging documents against the ringleaders of conspiracies to usurp the government of the United States. These are public statements made by a man known to give subtle warnings, and opportunities to make a deal, before using the power at his disposal to force the outcome he wants.

President Trump gave Iran options before he “bombed the hell out of them” and totally destroyed their nuclear facilities. They didn’t take him seriously. He gave Nigerian militants a warning to stay away from the Christian population, but they didn’t heed him either. Their bodies are now scattered across the landscape because Trump wasn’t kidding.

“President” Maduro was given options to leave Venezuela peacefully. Maduro didn’t take Trump seriously. He is now sitting in a New York prison after yesterday’s lightning strikes in Caracas that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife. Maybe he should have taken Trump seriously.

So now we get to the question of domestic arrests. Will there be any? Is Pam Bondi up to the job? Has Trump forgotten?

I don’t know what is going on with Bondi, but the man who warns his enemies that he knows what they did by posting his mug shot in the Oval Office, then publicly posts indictments of Biden and Obama, then drops 14 bunker buster bombs on Iran, blows up Nigerian militants, and captures the dictator of Venezuela after blowing 35 narco trafficking boats to smithereens is not a man who forgets that the Democrats did everything they could to destroy him.

My opinion is this: The people who tormented Trump and America will wish they had begged for forgiveness when they had the chance. I think that opportunity is long gone, and now, they can only look forward to their punishment being worse with every passing day. He hasn’t forgotten, and his silence is not neglect or forgiveness. It is resolve.