Why did Trump fail to use his power? They convinced him not to. Remember that Trump is really an institutional guy, a guy who respects people with medals or diplomas from colleges that, it turns out, are pretty okay with genocide as long as the right people are being genocided. He selected impressive people for his administration, but impressive only in the context of their failed institutions. That’s how you got Milley and the others who let him down. “Oh, Wray/Fauci/That Exxon Guy Who Was SecState for 15 Minutes is great with great credentials and a lot of DC respect – go with him!” Um, no. Who can be surprised that these institution-approved characters were loyal to their institutions before they were loyal to an administration built on the premise that the institutions are broken?
That’s why the Regime Media has pivoted from “authoritarian” – yeah, Trump wants to, I dunno, make you eat bugs instead of meat or ruin your life for failing to pretend a man pretending to be a woman is a woman – to the “loyalty” trope. Now, Trump does demand personal loyalty from voters, which is silly – politicians owe us loyalty, not vice versa. But voters pick a candidate who forms an administration that is presumably based upon the campaign promises of the candidate, and hell yeah, the people the President hires must be loyal to the administration because that is loyalty to the people who elected it. So you're darn tootin’ that Trump should hire loyal people – loyal to the America First vision as opposed to its one-term avatar should Trump be reelected.
The Democrats and their slobbering, toe-licking Regime Media allies are just petrified that Trump will beat the drooling zombie currently desecrating the Oval Office and actually use his power to further the America First coalition’s vision. Remember, to them, anything we do is inherently illegitimate – even if we somehow win an election, we are morally foreclosed, in their hive mind, from actually pursuing our policy interests. To them, the idea that Trump might pursue his policies in office is always beyond the pale.
But they are also worried that Trump will seek revenge for what they have done to him. We should hope so. Their disgraceful behavior is a direct assault on what they lamely call Our Democracy. They decided Trump was so bad that the rules didn’t apply. Well, then, the rules don’t apply. See how that works out for you, and when you find it is painful, please be sure to cry about it. We need a laugh.
If Trump wins, the Democrats can look forward to harsh payback. This is good. Righteous retribution is essential. Allowing them to go unpunished invites more of the same behavior. We want some future Democrat who hears his/her/xir co-Deep Stater pal thinking about trying to frame a future Republican to say, “Are you nuts? Remember what happened last time?” Since when are we Republicans against punishing wrongdoers? Trump may not be an angel, but he can still be avenging.
And the Democrats should be grateful if Trump wins the nomination and the election. Trump is an old guy who grew up in a different era and still has that sliver of respect for the institutions. But Ron DeSantis does not; he would be a hundred times harsher.