A look into Trump's recent rhetoric focusing on revenge and threats

<p>Earlier this month, former President Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that the United States has two enemies. "We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia, and all those countries, because if you have a smart president, he can handle them." It's something Trump talks about a lot. He doubled down on his remarks a few days later in a Fox town hall, describing these so-called enemies as "Marxists, communists, and fascists." Prominent Democrats like former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff fall into this categorization as well. Trump told Fox News earlier that if these "enemies" disrupt Election Day, the military should step in. "I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can't let that happen," You're reading the Consider This newsletter, which unpacks one major news story each day. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to more from the Consider This podcast . Trump's enemies, identified An NPR investigation has found more than 100 times when Trump has said his rivals, critics and even private citizens should be investigated, prosecuted, put in jail or otherwise punished. NPR Investigative Correspondent Tom Dreisbach outlined just a few: First, there are his political rivals: he has promised to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Biden and has said Kamala Harris should be prosecuted. Trump has reposted Truth Social posts, calling for former President Barack Obama, and former congresswoman Liz Cheney to be sent to military tribunals. On social media and at rallies, Trump has threatened prosecutors, some judges, courtroom staff and even a grand juror involved in his criminal and civil cases. He has also said election workers, journalists and private citizens who criticize the Supreme Court should be jailed. The credibility of these threats. Ian Bassin is an expert on authoritarian movements with the group Protect Democracy. He says that Trump's threats could endanger Americans' civil liberties. "This is how autocrats cement their permanent grip on power," Bassin told NPR. All of these threats raise a question: if Trump won reelection, could he tell the Justice Department to go after all of these people? Bassin says the answer is, essentially, yes. "There are not really legal restrictions or even structural restrictions that would stop the president from simply directing them to go and investigate his perceived opponents," Bassin said. Some of Trump's allies have promised to undo the decades-long custom that the White House stays out of the Justice Department's decision-making. "The Department of Justice is not an independent agency," said former Trump administration official Russell Vought at a conference last year. "If anyone brings it up in a policy meeting in the White House, I want them out of the meeting." There are some guardrails protecting against abuses of power by federal law enforcement. Judges have the power to dismiss cases, and can refuse to sign off warrants, for example. But Bassin said a weaponized Justice Department could still do serious damage to democracy, by convincing people that just criticizing the president might make them a target. So, would Trump really do it? Listen to today's episode of Consider This to find out. This episode was produced by Monika Evstatieva and Brianna Scott. It was edited by Barrie Hardymon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.</p>