President Donald Trump didn’t catch it right away, but one of the reporters asking him questions about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey asked who was next on his “revenge” list. Trump did clean it up by simply stating there was no list, but there were probably going to be more because they had broken the law trying to get him. It wasn’t “revenge,” he pointed out, it was justice. He said that you just can’t let them get away with stuff like they tried to do to him, and he is right.
I’ve noticed that when Democrats claim Trump is after “retribution,” Republicans are asking, “For what, exactly?” Which is a great cancellation of the idea that something Trump is doing is unique.
Then there is the “breaking norm” idiocy, coming from a party that initiated several “firsts” in their quest to “get Trump.” While they claim Trump was the “first” for this or that, nobody challenged them about how he got to be “first” without initiating the new circumstance.
But that is getting asked now.
Democrats have relentlessly accused Trump of breaking political norms, casting his actions as assaults on democracy. Yet under the Biden administration, Democrats engaged in their own egregious norm-breaking, revealing a blatant hypocrisy that undermines their self-righteous rhetoric. From weaponizing the Justice Department to manipulating democratic processes, the Biden era showcases a pattern of abandoning principles for power. This double standard erodes trust in institutions and exposes Democrats’ willingness to flout the very norms they claim to champion.
A prime example of Democrats’ malfeasance is their politicization of the Justice Department and state or local district attorneys to target political adversaries. The indictments of Trump for falsifying business records and mishandling classified documents were presented as upholding justice. However, these cases — often inflating minor infractions into felonies — reek of political retribution, strategically timed to influence the 2024 election. House Oversight Committee reports highlight how the DOJ’s actions suggest a selective prosecution, a stark departure from the post-Watergate norm of impartial law enforcement.
Even more damning is the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020, where the FBI and DOJ allegedly collaborated with tech firms to censor information, violating free speech protections. Democrats brushed this off as misinformation, but the Twitter Files exposed their coordination to silence dissent, a move they would never tolerate from opponents.
I think the most troubling situation of all was the Democrats’ handling of Biden’s cognitive decline and the 2024 primary process. Party leaders and aides concealed concerns about Biden’s mental fitness, dismissing critics as “conspiracy theorists” until his catastrophic June 2024 debate performance forced action. Instead of holding an open primary to let voters choose a new nominee, Democrat elites handpicked Vice President Kamala Harris, sidelining challengers like Representative Dean Phillips. This violated the norm of transparent, voter-driven primaries, a bedrock of democratic fairness. Reporting from The Wall Street Journal and books like Jake Tapper’s Original Sin detail how party insiders admitted to covering up Biden’s condition yet faced no consequences. This manipulation of the democratic process betrays the very principles Democrats claim to defend. John Ossoff, the progressive Democrat senator from Georgia, just openly admitted that they knew about Biden’s condition all along but kept quiet to retain power.
The Biden administration also trampled on norms of separation of powers through brazen executive overreach. Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, costing an estimated $500 billion, bypassed Congress’s authority over appropriations, prompting legal challenges and accusations of fiscal recklessness. Similarly, vaccine mandates imposed on federal workers and contractors stretched executive power beyond traditional limits, with courts striking down several measures. The administration’s misuse of reconciliation to push non-budgetary policies, such as a $15 minimum wage, flouted Senate traditions. Most alarmingly, Biden’s 2024 airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval violated the War Powers Resolution, a clear breach of constitutional checks and balances.
Perhaps the most blatant display of Democrat hypocrisy was Biden’s 2024 pardon of his son Hunter for tax and gun charges. After years of proclaiming “no one is above the law,” Biden issued a “full and unconditional” pardon, shielding his son from accountability. Vanity Fair labeled this a “stunning act of hypocrisy,” while Jon Stewart’s 2024 commentary exposed Democrats’ shifting justifications. Biden’s vague hints at broader pardons for allies further eroded the norm of restrained clemency, a tradition meant to avoid favoritism.
Democrats’ actions under Biden — politicizing justice, rigging primaries, overstepping executive bounds, and excusing family favoritism (not even including the unduly harsh treatment of nonviolent J6 attendees) — reveal a troubling disregard for democratic norms. Studies like Democracy Fund’s 2024 report show Democrats’ support for such overreach surged by 10.6% under Biden, exposing their selective commitment to principle. By wielding the same tools they once condemned, Democrats have forfeited any claim to moral authority, proving their defense of democracy is little more than a convenient facade.
Retribution?
Hardly.
It feels like justice.
