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As Donald Trump takes stock of his dramatic legal difficulties, including four criminal indictments across three jurisdictions, the former president is making little effort to hide his retaliatory ambitions. National Review summarized the Republican's eyebrow-raising comments from last week.

Former president Donald Trump recently said he'd have "no choice" but to lock up his political opponents if he wins the 2024 presidential race because his opponents are already doing the same to him and his allies. Trump's comments came during an interview with conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday.

When the host specifically asked Trump whether he'd "lock people up" if given a second term, the former president replied, "The answer is you have no choice, because they're doing it to us."

It was not an off-hand comment. It was about a month ago when the Republican used his social media platform to ask, "Is this going to be the future of elections in America? Can a president order his Department of Justice to indict an opponent just prior to an election?"

Nearly two weeks later, he published a related missive, asking whether he'd be "allowed" to indict his perceived foes if he returns to the White House, adding that such an abuse is "a horrible and unconstitutional thing."

Just two days ago, Trump returned to the subject. "The Crooked Joe Biden Campaign has thrown so many Indictments and lawsuits against me that Republicans are already thinking about what we are going to do to Biden and the Communists when it's our turn," he wrote. "They have started a whole new Banana Republic way of thinking about political campaigns. So cheap and dirty, but that's where America is right now. Be careful what you wish for!"

For now, let's put aside some of Trump's more trivial nonsense - though I do find it amusing when Republicans capitalize "banana republic" for no reason, as if the nation is now a clothing retailer. Let's instead focus our attention on what really matters.

In Trump's mind, President Joe Biden is secretly pulling the prosecutorial strings behind the scenes, orchestrating his predecessor's indictments from the shadows. There is, of course, literally zero evidence to support such a ridiculous claim, but the former president apparently envisions a scenario in which he returns to the White House and begins an identical prosecutorial campaign, using federal law enforcement as a weapon against his political foes.

Trump recently characterized this as "a horrible and unconstitutional thing," but he added last week that he believes he now has "no choice" but to pursue such a course.

There is, however, a nagging detail the former president apparently hopes the public will forget: Trump is threatening a nightmare scenario that he already tried to implement. The Republican would have Americans believe that Biden has indicted his likely opponent during a campaign for no reason, while in reality, Trump is the one who actually did try to get his opponent indicted during a campaign for no reason.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane.

As his first year in the White House came to an end, Trump claimed he had "absolute" control over federal law enforcement, endorsed a system in which an attorney general's principal responsibility would be to protect a president's interests, and urged the Justice Department to target former FBI Director James Comey.

A month later, Trump publicly questioned why his attorney general hadn't launched more investigations into Democrats.

In August 2018, Trump published a list of perceived enemies he wanted the Justice Department to go after, pleading with the attorney general to go after the "other side."

Three months later, The New York Times reported that Trump specifically told the White House counsel that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute Comer and Hillary Clinton for crimes unknown.

In August 2020, less than three months before the presidential election, Trump publicly pressed his attorney general to target a variety of foes, including Biden and Barack Obama. A month later, the Republican echoed the rhetoric, saying Bill Barr could become "the greatest attorney general in the history of our country," but only if he went after Trump's perceived enemies.

Two months before Election Day, Trump again declared publicly that he saw Biden as a criminal.One month before Election Day, the then-president told voters explicitly that he expected the Justice Department to arrest his foes, including the then-Democratic presidential nominee.

In early October 2020, with early voting underway across much of the country, Politico published an especially memorable headline: "'Where are all of the arrests?': Trump demands Barr lock up his foes."

In late October 2020, as early voting continued, Trump again told the electorate that his opponent " should be in jail " and complained that Barr hadn't put Biden behind bars. "He's got to act, and he's got to act fast," the then-president said in reference to his then-attorney general. "He's got to appoint somebody."

A day later, Trump again explicitly and publicly called on Barr to target Biden with prosecution.

In other words, we're left with a head-spinning dynamic: The politician who's now asking, "Can a president order his Department of Justice to indict an opponent just prior to an election?" is the same politician who, as president, pressured his Justice Department to indict his opponent just prior to an election.

Trump expects us to believe that he has "no choice" but to weaponize federal law enforcement and pursue charges against his political opponents, seemingly unaware of the fact that, while in office, he already tried to weaponize federal law enforcement and pursue charges against his political opponents.

"They have started a whole new Banana Republic way of thinking about political campaigns," Trump wrote over the weekend, ignoring the fact that for him, there's nothing "new" about it.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

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Trump threatens retaliatory scheme he already tried to implement

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Donald Trump insists he now has "no choice" but to weaponize federal law enforcement, seemingly unaware of the fact that he already tried to do that.

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Donald Trump, has now been indicted four times this year, all while he leads in the polls for the Republican nomination for president.

Trump, the current 2024 GOP frontrunner, was indicted on Tuesday with state charges out of Georgia's Fulton County.
The Georgia case
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeff Clark, John Eastman, and others, were also charged out of the years-long investigation.
TRUMP INDICTED OUT OF GEORGIA PROBE INTO ALLEGED EFFORTS TO OVERTURN 2020 ELECTION
The charges include violating the Georgia RICO Act - the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act; Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings; Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Filing False Documents; and Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer.

Georgia Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis gave Trump and the 18 other defendents until Aug. 25 to surrender. Willis, Monday night during a press conference, said she would like a trial to take place within six months.
Charges by Manhattan DC Alvin Bragg
Trump was first charged in March out of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's years-long investigation related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Bragg alleged that Trump "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."
TRUMP SAYS GEORGIA INDICTMENT COMES DURING 'DARK PERIOD' FOR US, VOWS TO FIX IT BY WINNING
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
Classifed records case
Those charges from Bragg came amid Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla.

Months later, on June 8, Trump, for the first time, was indicted on federal criminal charges out of that classified records investigation.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of that probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Last month, on July 27, Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith's investigation - an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.
FULTON COUNTY DA DEFLECTS ON HOW INDICTMENT LEAKED: 'I CAN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING'
Trump aide and valet Waltine Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira were also charged out of Smith's probe.
Jan. 6 and election interference
Smith was also investigating whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

On Aug. 1, Trump was indicted on four federal charges out of Smith's Jan. 6 probe.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, which included conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct and official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

Trump allies, though, have pointed out the timing of the indictments, highlighting that the charges against the former president have all come just after some sort of critical news or developments out of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden and congressional investigations into the Biden family's business dealings.
JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBERY SCHEME, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT
On June 8, Fox News Digital reported exclusively on details contained in a classified FBI-generated FD-1023 form alleging that Joe Biden, while serving as vice president, was paid $5 million by an executive of the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, where his son Hunter Biden sat on the board.

Hours later, Smith indicted Trump with charges related to the classified records probe.

On July 26, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to two federal misdemeanor tax charges and a federal felony gun charge, after a plea deal fell apart. A day later, Trump was charged in Smith's superseding indictment.

On July 31, the House Oversight Committee heard testimony from Hunter Biden's ex-business associate Devon Archer. Archer testified that Joe Biden was on calls with Hunter's foreign business partners at least 20 times, despite Biden repeatedly saying he was never involved in his son's business dealings.
FBI AGENT SAYS BIDEN TRANSITION TEAM, SECRET SERVICE WERE TIPPED OFF ON 2020 PLANS TO INTERVIEW HUNTER BIDEN
Trump was indicted on Aug. 1 out of Smith's Jan. 6 investigation.

"When Biden corruption is exposed, the government targets Trump," the Trump team said. "This is the Biden playbook."

Meanwhile, the latest polls show Trump leading the crowded 2024 GOP primary field. The RealClearPolitics average has Trump leading the GOP primary field by 39.7 points, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in second place.

In a head-to-head between Trump and Biden, the RCP average has Biden at 44.8 percent and Trump at 44.1 percent.

"This politically-inspired indictment, which could have been brought close to three years ago, was tailored for placement right smack in the middle of my political campaign, where I am leading all Republicans - by a lot - and beating Joe Biden soundly in almost all polls," Trump told Fox News Digital.

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With the charges in Georgia, Trump now faces four criminal indictments

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Former President Donald Trump has now been indicted four times this year, all while he leads in the polls for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

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AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File

The latest indictment against former President Donald Trump has "awoken the world" to the corruption that has taken place over the last three years, the Republican frontrunner said on social media on Wednesday, thanking Americans for their support.

"THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!! I HAVE NEVER HAD SO MUCH SUPPORT ON ANYTHING BEFORE," Trump wrote in an all-caps post on Truth Social Wednesday morning.

He continued:

THIS UNPRECEDENTED INDICTMENT OF A FORMER (HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL!) PRESIDENT, & THE LEADING CANDIDATE, BY FAR, IN BOTH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTION, HAS AWOKEN THE WORLD TO THE CORRUPTION, SCANDAL, & FAILURE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS.

Trump asserted that America is a "NATION IN DECLINE" but struck a positive note, promising it will be made "GREAT AGAIN, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE."

Trump's post comes less than a day after Special Counsel Jack Smith announced that a grand jury in Washington, D.C., had indicted Trump on charges relating to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The indictment claims that Trump was "determined to stay in power" after the election.

"So for more than two months following Election Day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election that he actually won. These claims were false, and the Defendant knew they were false," it asserted, failing to reveal how prosecutors claimed to know Trump's thinking.

As Breitbart News reported:

The indictment does not indicate how prosecutors were able to establish what Trump himself believed, other than the fact that he had been informed by others that his suspicions of fraud were false; nor does it distinguish the case from the "Russia collusion" hoax spread by Trump's opponents, including within the Department of Justice, after he won the 2016 presidential election.

There are several unnamed, unindicted co-conspirators in the indictment as well. These are four attorneys, a Department of Justice official, and a political consultant who worked on Trump's strategy to challenge the result.

RELATED - Trump on Jack Smith's Superseding Indictment: "This Is Harassment"
Trump was indicted on four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. As Breitbart News reported, "Conspiracy Against Rights" includes a penalty of up to ten years in federal prison and "adds that if death results from the actions covered under this provision, the offender may be executed."

Matthew Perdie / Breitbart News, Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News

In a statement released to social media following the indictment, the Trump campaign characterized it as:

...nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins.

"But why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges, right in the middle of President Trump's winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big Crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the Halls of Congress?" the statement asked, concluding that it is a perfect instance of "election interference."

Read the full statement below:

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is among those who have pointed to the all too convenient timing of the indictment, demonstrating how it came just as President Joe Biden, 80, had been implicated by his son Hunter's former business partner, Devon Archer.

"Everyone in America could see what was going to come next: DOJ's attempt to distract from the news and attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, President Trump," McCarthy said, promising that House Republicans "will continue to uncover the truth about Biden Inc. and the two-tiered system of justice."

We've recently learned:
* Hunter received money from China (contradicting President Biden's claim)
* President Biden spoke with Hunter's business associates over 20 times (contradicting what Biden previously claimed)
* Biden's DOJ tried to secretly give Hunter broad immunity...

- Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) August 1, 2023

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Donald Trump: Indictment Has 'Awoken the World' to 'Corruption'

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The indictment against Donald Trump has "awoken the world" to the corruption that has taken place over the last three years, the GOP frontrunner said.