Trump is bringing back the “crazy people” and “bastards” he once marginalized

SEATTLE — One was a campaign manager who was later fired after being accused of “inappropriate” behavior by the wife of a major donor, another was jailed for tax fraud and a third was a notorious “Rav**kDonald Trump has been released from prison after being imprisoned for lying to Congress.

As the former president fights to return to the White House, some of his most extreme old colleagues — even marginalized by Trump himself — are returning to his inner circle.

reported that Paul ManafortAfter running the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016 and later serving more than seven years in prison, he is preparing to attend this summer’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Corey Lewandowski, another campaign figure later deemed toxic, was allegedly approached to assist Manafort. at the same time, Roger StoneThe veteran political operative who worked for Richard Nixon and had his sentence commuted by Trump has been campaigning for Nixon and visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort.

They are just a very small number of marginal figures, Being labeled “crazy” They want to return to Trumpworld, according to some of his top advisers Axios.

The Republican National Committee (RNC), whose co-chair is Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, recently hired Christina Boba right-wing lawyer and television anchor Yimei News After Trump lost in 2020, he was censured by Republicans for promoting false claims of election fraud.

Mr. Trump still wants to keep Laura LoomerKnown in conservative circles as a far-right anti-Muslim activist, she was banned from social media and later told by his campaign manager that her presence could backfire on him.

Experts say the businessman has vowed to exact “revenge” if re-elected, and the people he is now associating with – many of them conspiracy theorists who support his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged – are clearly Indicates what will happen next.

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Saladin Anbar, a political science professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said Trump did appoint some establishment figures during his first term who were not ideological loyalists. Among them is his national security adviser John Bolton.

Professor Anbar tells I Even such a relatively moderate figure is unlikely to be part of Trump’s administration if he is re-elected.

“These people will disappear and be replaced by true, through-and-through loyalists,” he said. “The language of retribution suggests this. He advises anyone who opposes him – past, present, and perhaps future – to be careful.”

As part of preparations for the next term, Trump’s right-wing allies have been developing “Plan 2025,” a set of policy proposals that could result in many traditional civil service positions being filled by thousands of people who have signed the Allegiance Pledge. Those around him believe the move will allow the 77-year-old to fight what they see as the influence of the “deep state” – officials who refuse to do what is asked of them or break the rules.

Zachary Mueller, senior research director at American Voices, a nonprofit that advocates for immigrant rights, believes that one of the most frightening prospects of Trump’s second term will be his immigration policies.

Trump, who repeatedly referred to undocumented immigrants as “animals” in campaign speeches, has promised mass deportations and a new Muslim travel ban similar to one he implemented via executive order during his first term. The policy is likely to be overseen by hardline loyalist Stephen Miller. Trump said he would step up immigration enforcement by reallocating other federal agents, local police and National Guard troops.

“We are going to have the largest domestic deportations in the history of the United States,” the former president said at a rally in Iowa last September.

“A second term will be worse than what we’ve seen before,” Mueller said.

He believes that the political violence that occurred during Trump’s first term will be more serious, such as the 2019 attack by a white nationalist on an El Paso supermarket with mainly Hispanic customers, killing 29 people.

“We saw this multiple times during the Trump administration with individuals involved in domestic terrorist attacks,” he said. “What’s even more concerning is that Trump’s allies are not relenting. They are becoming more aggressive.”

Many of the top donors considered Republican presidential candidates also hold extreme views. The former president hosted an event at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend where he said he raised more than $50 million, his largest event of the campaign season so far, surpassing the $2,600 raised by Joe Biden in New York last week Ten thousand U.S. dollars. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton also attended the event.

Those attending the Florida event are said to include billionaire businessman and radio host John Catsimatidis, who once likened taxing the wealthy to the Holocaust.

Co-chairs of the fundraiser include hedge fund investor Robert Mercer, who claimed passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act was a mistake, and hotel owner Robert Bigelow. Provided $20 million to Ron DeSantis’ suspended presidential campaign.

He does so as Mr. DeSantis clashes with Disney over the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation with students.

The former president reportedly said at the event that he wanted immigrants from “good” countries “like Denmark.”

The Trump campaign did not respond IRequest for comment.