This post has been updated since it was originally published to include recent facts
Bad news if you’re not on Donald Trump’s good side, as he appears to be coming for anyone and everyone who is opposed to him winning his third presidential bid in 2024, as well as those who he feels have wronged him in the past! When calling in to Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Thursday, February 2nd, the 76-year-old twice-impeached former president quite bluntly revealed that he believes he is “entitled” to a “revenge” tour if he wins his third bid for the White House in 2024. Although having said that, he seemed to reassure listeners that he wouldn’t actually do it!
Trump Says He Feels Entitled To A 'Revenge Tour' If Reelected
Trump had quite a lot to say on the radio show, including how he believes that the war in Ukraine would have never happened if he was in charge. Hewitt then asked Trump if he would punish the people who he felt had wronged him over the years if he gets reelected in 2024 (which could be in reference to the Republicans who voted for his 2021 impeachment, who he previously waged war against!) to which Trump said: "No, I wouldn’t do that because I want to bring our country forward. No, I wouldn’t do that. I would be entitled to a revenge tour if you want to know the truth, but I wouldn’t do that."
He continued to tell Hewitt what he *would* want to do if he were to be reelected, saying: "I would want to straighten out our border. I would want to get inflation down, build our economy up, which is actually doing very poorly."
"You do have a potential disaster on your hands with the war," he continued. "You also have a disaster with Kim Jung Un of North Korea. I get along with him great. He always liked me. You saw that, and he doesn’t like Biden at all, and he’s arming up, and Iran is arming up and we’ve got to do something about it."
National Security Adviser Calls Donald Trump 'Poison' For The GOP
As expected, there are many people who don’t think Trump is up to the job of becoming the next president, including former national security adviser, John Bolton. Bolton, 74, called Trump’s 2024 bid "poison" to the Republic Party, while also insisting that the former president’s reelection campaign is "going downhill." In an interview with CBS News’ chief election and campaign correspondent, Bolton said that he is considering his own 2024 presidential bid because of Trump’s claims last year of "terminating" parts of the U.S. Constitution.
The former national security adviser has said Trump's 2024 presidential campaign will be "poison" for the Republican Party. https://t.co/xAqDjledAh
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 27, 2023
Bolton has served in a variety of national security roles in Republican administrations for Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr., and Trump. Bolton said Trump "behaved in a very erratic fashion" as commander-in-chief and failed to grasp "the gravity and the importance of the national security decisions he had to make." Bolton argued that Trump's 2024 campaign, which he launched in November 2022, is going to be squashed.
"I think it's going downhill and I think it'll continue to go downhill," Bolton said about Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. "I think Republicans, especially after the Nov. 8 elections last year, see that he's poison to the ticket. He cannot be elected president. If he were the Republican nominee, he would doom our chances to get a majority in the Senate and the House. I don't think he's going to be the Republican nominee." When asked if he is seriously considering a 2024 run, Bolton said that that characterization is "exactly right."
Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton: Donald Trump is a threat to our national security. https://t.co/8Wfmur5BKt
— Republicans against Trumpism (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 26, 2023
After Bolton left the Trump White House, he wrote a detailed book about his time working for Trump. The Justice Department sued Bolton to try to stop its publishing, alleging Bolton disclosed classified information. But, Bolton's book, The Room Where it Happened, was published by Simon & Schuster, in June 2020. And, Trump's Chief of Staff John Kelly, 72, also released a book claiming that he was shocked by the former president's "immoral" behavior. When asked if Trump is a threat to national security, he replied, "I think he is. I believe that the damage he did during his term was significant but repairable," Bolton told CBS News. "I strongly opposed him getting a second term because I worried that what he would do in a second term might be irreparable."
Trump today on Desantis: “I got him elected, pure and simple. And there was no reason to go wild about endorsing him .. So, now I hear he might want to run against me. So, we’ll handle that the way I handle things.” pic.twitter.com/rBBYyUtnNW
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 16, 2023
Donald Trump Is Now Saying He'll 'Handle' Ron DeSantis If He Runs Against Him In 2024
One of Trump's main Republican competitors for the 2024 GOP nomination is Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. Although DeSantis, 44, hasn't announced if he is running yet, Trump issued a warning to the governor on The Water Cooler podcast on Monday, Jan. 16th. He said that he would "handle" the Florida governor if he decided to run against him for the 2024 GOP nomination. Yikes!
Trump appeared on the conservative podcast to give his opinions on what he thinks of DeSantis running against him. He said, "So now I hear he might want to run against me. So we’ll handle that the way I handle things." Trump also once again claimed that he was the one responsible for DeSantis winning the governor's race back in 2018, saying, "I got him elected, pure and simple. And there was no reason to go wild about endorsing him."
