Trump Threatens To Imprison Biden, Harris, And Pelosi

Defeated ex-president Donald Trump's consistent threats to prosecute his perceived enemies are concerning to many legal and democracy experts, who say Trump's own history shows he could make good on those promises in a second presidential term, even as surveys show he is losing, Aysha Bagchi reported for USA Today.

The former president has previously suggested prosecuting his rivals would be legitimate revenge for his own legal troubles. I Photo: Adam Schulz, The White House

Recently, the Republican presidential nominee alleged on Truth Social that there was "rampant cheating and skullduggery" in the 2020 presidential election, despite numerous recounts and audits disproving his claims that he only appeared to have lost because of voter fraud.

Trump then brought those baseless fraud claims to bear on the 2024 election, saying various groups—including lawyers and "corrupt election officials"—should beware that after he wins the 2024 election, "those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted."

The threat comes just a couple of weeks after Trump circulated Truth Social posts calling for military tribunals against former President Barack Obama and for indicting the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

He shared with his followers another user's post depicting rivals in jumpsuits, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Richard Painter, who was a White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, likened the comments to a vision of President Vladimir Putin's Russia, where Putin's political opponents end up behind bars on charges such as "extremism" or "treason" after criticizing his regime.

"It's extremely dangerous for democracy, this idea that the winner just puts the loser in prison, prosecutes the loser," Painter told USA Today.

The former president has previously suggested prosecuting his rivals would be legitimate revenge for his own legal troubles, which include one criminal conviction in New York state court and three other criminal cases.