UPDATED 7/21: Trump Appears to Issue Blanket Threat to All Opponents

UPDATE 7/21: Trump continued to threaten those who would thwart his path to a dictatorial second term. He issued a clear threat to the American people and our justice system in particular when asked about the possibility he will be jailed for his crimes:

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/embedded-video/mmvo188970565541

Further coverage of the threatening video discussed below indicates the origin of the audio is indeed Trump, but the statement was made in the context of threatening action against Iran during his term. The reposting of the decontextualized threat by Trump himself certainly gives the recording new meaning and relevance to current circumstances.

These threats, taken together, seem to signal a new chapter in Trump’s campaign in which he is issuing vague but unmistakable threats against the public and the justice system. This indicates to me one unmistakeable and salient fact: Trump is terrified and feels events slipping out of his control.

END UPDATE

In perhaps the most naked and obvious way yet, Trump has issued an explicit threat to anyone who seeks to thwart his ambition to become the American Putin or Xi.

Trump’s apparent voice over states: “If you fuck around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before.”

This is the apotheosis of Trump’s transformation of GOP politics from policy and ideological competition to threats and intimidation of any opposition.

I seem unable to successfully embed the video here (because Truth sucks, or because of content restrictions is unclear) so the above may simply link to the Truth post depending on your browser. The video was originally posted on Rumble and is restricted on that site, so I cannot view it there.

Keep in mind this video appeared on Trump’s own “Truth” platform. I do not know if it has been authorized by the candidate or his campaign, nor if Trump’s voice and words are genuine, but unless Trump explicitly disclaims it, it certainly gives the impression of a official campaign statement. Certainly, the fact that Trump “reTruthed” the video himself gives it an official imprimatur.

RawStory posted about the video:

“Overnight Donald Trump promoted a video featuring an extreme close-up photo of his face in black and white, and audio of him making an obvious threat: “If you f— around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before.”

Trump “retruthed” the video, posted by an account that appears to belong to a “MAGA” website, on his social media platform Truth Social, sometime after 1 AM.

Trump’s promotion of the threatening video in the early hours of Thursday morning comes just after one federal judge on Wednesday refused his request to transfer his criminal trial in the porn star hush money case being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to the federal court system, where the ex-president had hoped to be able to use federal law to protect him from prosecution. It also comes just after a different federal judge refused his request for a new trial in a civil case where a jury awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million after determining he was liable for defamation and sexual assault.

Trump’s promotion of the video also comes after the Special Counsel sent Trump’s attorneys a letter on Sunday informing them their client is a target in the investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden, including the events surrounding the January 6 insurrection.”