From John Wick to Terminator to the Rocky franchise, sequels have a habit of being focused on revenge. And the trailers for the second term of Donald Trump are certainly suggesting a turn in the same direction, with Trump having volubly and regularly given notice of the fact that he intends to imprison, impoverish and immolate those who have crossed or offended him in his first term, or during the four-year Biden interregnum.
Accordingly, The Daily Beast is proud to present the A-Z of Trumpian grievances, and there are so head-spinningly many individuals on Trump’s naughty list, we didn’t even have to cheat on X.
A is for Adam Schiff: Trump has intensified his hostile rhetoric toward Adam Schiff, who led the first impeachment trial against Trump and has been a frequent target of his criticism. The Democratic congressman from California was labeled, in a Fox News interview, as an “enemy from within” and Trump suggested that Schiff and others of his ilk might need to be handled by the National Guard or the military.
ADVERTISEMENT
B is for “The Biden Crime Family” Hunter Biden is already facing a sentencing hearing on tax charges on December 16, but that may be the least of his worries. Trump has railed frequently about the corrupt “Biden crime family” and might relish the opportunity to stick Hunter with additional charges. Joe is likely safe, ironically enough thanks in part to the Supreme Court’s finding that Presidents are immune to prosecution. “I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Trump said last year.
C is for Michael Cohen Trump’s hapless fixer and former attorney - who denounced his onetime boss but ultimately very much failed to bring him down - might want to keep an eye over his shoulder for the next four years. In a Truth Social post from last year, Trump stated: “Cohen should be prosecuted for lying and all of the tumult and cost he put the D.A.’s Office through.”
D is for Deep State: This mysterious, string-pulling force is in, well, deep, trouble now Trump is back in power. On March 25, 2023, at a Waco, Texas Rally, Trump declared, “Either the deep state destroys America, or we destroy the deep state,” framing it as a direct threat to the nation. In a March 2023, campaign video he unveiled a “10-point plan to dismantle the deep state,” which included establishing a “truth and reconciliation commission” to expose and eliminate alleged deep state operatives. “Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people,” JD Vance, Trump’s VP elect, proposed on a podcast in 2021.
E is for England: Trump filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the UK’s ruling Labor Party, alleging “blatant foreign interference” after Labour Party members were encouraged to volunteer in support of Kamala Harris’ campaign. Trump pal Nigel Farage called the volunteer program, “a very major political mistake.”
F is for the FBI: Trump has called for the prosecution of former FBI and DOJ officials who carried out the Russia investigation, U.S. intelligence officials, special counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, New York Attorney General Letitia James and many others.
G is for Gavin Newsom It’s hard to think of a relationship more characterized by mutual loathing that between California Governor Newsom and Trump. Trump hates him so much he has even given him a name, “Newscum.”
H is for Harry and Meghan: Bad vibes in Montecito this week, one imagines, and none more so than in Sussex towers. Trump has called Meghan “nasty” and threatened to re-open enquiries into confessed drug-user Harry’s immigration status. Trump didn’t like the way they treated the “beautiful” late Queen Elizabeth.
I is for Illegal immigrants: As Jon Stewart memorably put it, Trump is threatening to deport somewhere between “2 and eleventy billion” people as one of his first acts in power. At a rally in Reno, Nevada, Trump said he planned to launch “the largest deportation operation in American history” if elected. Stand by.
J is for Journalists Journalists who decline to identify the sources of leaked information should face imprisonment, Trump said. “If the reporter doesn’t want to tell you, it’s ‘bye-bye,’ the reporter goes to jail,” Trump said in 2022. He appeared to suggest that the unfortunate reporter could also face sexual assault while in custody.
K is for Kamala Harris: As recently as September 29 this year, Trump stated that Harris “should be impeached and prosecuted for her actions,” particularly criticizing her handling of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Maybe now he will decide she has suffered enough.
L is for Liz Cheney Liz Cheney is one of Trump’s most potent intra-party critics. In remarks made to Tucker Carlson, Trump said, “Cheney is a deranged person. The reason she doesn’t like me is that she wanted to stay in Iraq…I don’t blame [Dick Cheney] for sticking with his daughter, but his daughter is a very dumb individual, very dumb. She is a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.” Trump was accused by some critics of threatening her with a firing squad, and, although that’s not quite the case, his comments don’t exactly scream “unity.” Oh, also he has suggested she should be subject to a “televised military tribunal.”
M is for Mark Milley Trump famously suggested that Gen. Mark Milley, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in his administration, could face execution for calling officials in China after the Jan. 6 riot/tea party/coup attempt. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Milley told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump is “the most dangerous person to this country.”
N is for Nancy Pelosi Trump suggested Pelosi “could have gone to jail” for tearing up a copy of his state of the union address in 2020 and relations have not improved since then. Trump also suggested that Pelosi should be prosecuted in connection with her husband’s stock transactions, alleging insider trading. Those jails are getting mighty full.
O is for Old Media After being fact-checked over his claim that immigrants in Springfield were “eating the pets of the people who live there” in his September debate with Harris, Trump threatened the Federal Communications Commission revoke ABC’s broadcasting license. He called for CBS flagship “60 Minutes” to be “immediately taken off the air” over allegations of deceptive editing and said NBC would be “thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage” if he is elected. Fox news is golden, though.
P is for Palestinian activists: “Pro-Hamas radicals” are among those who Trump says he will deport. Even if they are American citizens, bafflingly. Jail time for people who burn the American flag is also on the agenda.
Q is for LGBTQ: Trump has explicitly taken actions and made statements that have been widely interpreted as attacks on transgender rights. During his presidency, he implemented policies that rolled back protections for transgender individuals. His key adviser and sponsor, Elon Musk, has accused the “woke mind virus” of encouraging his child to transition.
R is for “radical left lunatics” This handy catch-all was deployed just two weeks before the election escalated attacks on Americans he calls “the enemy from within.” He told Fox that “radical left lunatics” “should be very easily handled by — if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.”
S is for Supreme Court critics: “These people should be put in jail the way they talk about our judges and our justices, trying to get them to sway their vote, sway their decision,” Trump said at a rally in September as he ruminated on possible fates for people who disagree with SCOTUS .
T is for Taylor Swift: It‘s her, yes, she is the problem, it‘s her. The pop star probably won’t be playing for the White House any time soon, having endorsed Kamala.
U is for the United Nations: Trump has made it clear he is not a fan of the global talking shop. He will get to it right after he sorts out the World Health Organization and NATO.
V is for Venezuela Trump has made several critical remarks about Venezuela, particularly targeting its government and leadership. In August 2024, he claimed that Venezuela is “emptying out their prisons and jails” and sending criminals to the United States
W is for Wind Energy Trump has an animus towards wind power, claiming the turbines are noisy, unsightly, unreliable and, touchingly, harmful to birds.
X is for Xi Jinping China is expected to be the target of Trump tariff increases. Trump recently proposed imposing a modest 60% tariff on all Chinese goods, aiming to pressure the country on trade issues. He stated, “We will impose a 60% tariff on all goods coming from China until they stop their unfair trade practices.”
Y is for Sally Yates: The former acting attorney general, who declined to defend Trump’s “travel ban” order in 2017 has returned to private practice. She endorsed Biden in 2020 but has remained silent on social media since July this year, when she hailed Biden’s “selfless patriotism” in standing down.
Z is for Mark Zuckerberg: Trump loves Elon almost as much as he hates Zuck. Mostly the animus derives from Facebook kicking Trump off the platform after Jan 6, 2021.
The Daily Beast Podcast episodes are released every Thursday. Like and download on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app. And click here for email updates as each new episode drops.
