Since being acquitted by the Senate, Donald Trump has gone on a rampage against the rule of law, using all means at his disposal to punish his enemies and protect his friends. On the right-wing website Town Hall, Trump supporter Kurt Schlichter called on the president to imitate the vengeful gangsters of the Godfather movies. “With Democrat dreams of a soft coup now a heap of smoldering wreckage, and no need to play Mr. Nice Guy to please prissy softcons on Capitol Hill, President Trump is finally free to channel his inner Michael Corleone,” Schlichter argued. “It’s about time to re-christen Don Jr., and use that opportunity to take out the heads of the five families.”
It would be comforting to dismiss Schlichter as a crank, but according to the very well-connected Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, the column “channels Trump—and several of his advisers’—mindset right now as close to anything I’ve read.”