


Donald Trump is turning payback into policy
And setting new, dangerous precedents for the American presidency
During a debate last summer, when Donald Trump was asked what he meant by saying that as president he would have every right to “go after” his political opponents, he replied, “My retribution is going to be success.” His first few weeks back in the job have confirmed what many of his supporters and critics assumed he had in mind: that in office he would define “success” to include retribution. Mr Trump is not just returning to the ways of American presidents before the Watergate scandal, which led to reforms meant to insulate the Justice Department and FBI from presidential pressure. Those earlier presidents tended to be furtive in their use of government to punish adversaries: Richard Nixon’s “enemies list” was a secret.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “President Payback”

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