For those who may have crossed President Donald Trump, the message is sinking in: Payback is coming, and coming fast.
John Bolton, a former White House national security adviser who wrote a damning book about Trump’s first term, lost the Secret Service detail assigned to protect him from assassination threats from Iran. Additionally, Anthony Fauci, a public health scientist whom Trump called “a disaster” over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and who has been a target of far-right anger ever since, has also lost his detail.
Mark Milley, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman who broke with Trump over a photo-op at a church during the George Floyd racial justice protests, had a portrait removed from the walls of the Pentagon without warning. Defense officials said they have no idea who ordered it taken down or why.
Trump has also pulled the security clearances of dozens of former national security officials who signed a letter during the 2020 campaign opining that emails from a laptop belonging to Joe Biden’s son Hunter had the “classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” This all happened within days of his inauguration – in some cases, hours.
The White House did not respond to a question about whether Trump personally ordered these actions, or whether the motive was reprisal. Trump defended canceling Fauci’s and Bolton’s – and others’ – Secret Service details, saying the government can’t pay for people’s protection in perpetuity.
Trump’s actions have been met with criticism from those who are concerned about the rule of law and the potential establishment of an authoritarian state in the United States. The real question now is what checks and balances will there be to prevent such a scenario.