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Right-wing media celebrate Trump’s revenge tour

Written by Isabella Corrao & Helena Hind

Research contributions from Jane Lee

Published

Right-wing media are rejoicing over President Donald Trump’s execution of his promised revenge tour. In the first nine months of his second administration, the president has targeted political opponents and Democrat-led cities, states, and institutions. From indictments against Trump's former FBI director and national security advisor, to threats to revoke federal funding, to the deployment of the National Guard in cities, right-wing media figures have defended, justified, and commended Trump’s actions through it all.

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  • Donald Trump has targeted political opponents and Democrat-led cities, states, and institutions

    • After Trump publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue legal action against former FBI director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and New York Attorney General Letitia James — all of whom were involved in investigations against him — the DOJ charged Comey and James. “We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote in a September 20 Truth Social post, “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" Days later, Comey was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia and charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice. James was subsequently indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia and criminally indicted with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Both cases are being prosecuted by Lindsey Halligan, a “close legal adviser” of Trump with no prosecutorial experience who was recently installed in the Eastern District of Virginia. [NBC News, 10/10/25; BBC, 9/26/25, 10/9/25; CNN, 9/22/25]
    • The administration has revoked federal funding from universities, states that did not vote for Trump in 2024, and “more than 200 projects primarily located in Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states.” In May, the administration froze $2 billion in federal contracts and grants to Harvard University after its president rejected some of Trump’s demands. Most recently, the administration has halted over $28 billion in federal funding “reserved for more than 200 projects primarily located in Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states,” according to a New York Times analysis, which noted that “the budgetary moves coincide with the president’s public pledges to use the [government] shutdown to slash spending favored by Democrats.” On October 1, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought posted, “Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled. … The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA.” [Reuters, 5/30/25; New York Times, 10/14/25; Politico, 10/1/25; Twitter/X, 10/1/25]
    • As part of a crackdown on anti-ICE demonstrations, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles and has since attempted to deploy troops to other Democrat-led cities. Similar attempts to deploy the National Guard in Chicago and Portland have been halted by federal judges. Additionally, Trump has discussed invoking the Insurrection Act to make it easier to deploy troops domestically. [BBC, 9/2/25; Talking Points Memo, 10/23/25; NPR, 10/11/25; Los Angeles Times, 10/16/25; Media Matters, 10/9/25]

  • Right-wing media justified and commended prosecutions of Trump’s political enemies

    • Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty encouraged retaliatory prosecutions: “It's time for Republicans to start doing exactly what Democrats did to them.” He added, “People don't like the word revenge. Why not? It's time for that if it's warranted.” [Newsmax, Finnerty, 4/10/25]
    • Finnerty claimed there is “no ambiguity” that Trump is taking revenge on his political enemies and that “it’s time for payback.” Finnerty later added, “I don't think that payback should be a bad word.” [Newsmax, Finnerty, 8/25/25; 8/25/25]
    • Right-wing media host Steve Bannon praised Trump’s post calling on Bondi to prosecute his enemies: “It has to happen now, now, now.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 9/22/25]
    • Reacting to James Comey’s indictment, Article III Project President and Fox News guest Mike Davis: “These lawfare Democrats better lawyer up, because justice is definitely coming. I have publicly called for this for over three years since the Mar-a-Lago raid.” He continued, “We had an election and the American people are going to get accountability.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 9/25/25]
    • Watters complained that “the media is calling Comey’s indictment revenge … like it’s a bad thing.” He added, “You better believe there’s going to be payback.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 9/26/25]
    • The Five co-hosts celebrated “payback,” “revenge, retribution” on Trump’s political enemies, including Comey. [Fox News, The Five, 9/26/25]
    • Schmitt said on the Comey indictment, “Did anybody think that Donald Trump, a shrewd New York developer, a killer, was so angelic that he wouldn't even get even after being attacked so relentlessly?” He added, “They tried to imprison and bankrupt him as he ran for president. They started this. They destroyed the system. And this is what they get.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 9/26/25]
    • Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson celebrated that “Adam Schiff, Letitia James, James Clapper, John Brennan, and James Comey … are finally under scrutiny. The hunters have become the hunted.” Johnson also implied that Comey’s indictment didn’t go far enough: “True retribution would be James Comey dragged out of his house at 3AM in his underwear the way they did to my good friend Roger Stone. This is not retribution, but it sure is justice closing in.” [Twitter/X, 9/29/25]
    • Schmitt reacted to Letitia James’ indictment: “They're calling this retribution. And sure, why not? Let's call it retribution.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 10/10/25]
    • Fox host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery said she was “happy” to see Comey indicted. She added, “I hope they go after Clapper and I hope they go after all the other people who were working in concert with one another to throw this guy out of office.” [Fox News, The Five, 10/8/25]
    • Gutfeld said Donald Trump is “painting the town red” and “you can call it revenge.” He continued, “They came after us. That was lawfare. They thought they had it. It was going to be great. But it’s wrong. It didn't and now you have to pay the price. Don't get mad at us, don’t get mad at us. This is justice.” [Fox News, The Five, 10/10/25]

  • Right-wing media defended Trump’s threats to revoke federal funding from universities, cities, and states that do not comply with the administration

    • Fox News host Sean Hannity: “Columbia, they are desperately trying to get back the $400 million in federal funds that Donald Trump froze at the start of the negotiations. In fact, Columbia received 1.3 billion taxpayer dollars in government grants and contracts last year. Harvard got nearly 700 million of your tax dollars. … Why are they getting one taxpayer penny at all?” He added, “Can we now end the practice of funding these Ivy League institutions that are woke and full of DEI and abusively biased and politically radically left?” [Fox News, Hannity, 7/24/25]
    • The Five co-host Harold Ford Jr. said Trump should “yank federal funding” from cities and states that don't end cash bail. [Fox News, The Five, 8/12/25]
    • On The Ingraham Angle, American Majority founder and guest Ned Ryun encouraged the Trump administration to say, “We’re not going to give federal funding to places like Harvard or Princeton or Yale … if you’re going to continue to try and do this to our next generation.” He added, “I think in many ways we're kind of funding our own demise.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 10/3/25]
    • Right-wing media host Ben Shapiro said it is “perfectly legitimate” for Trump to cut federal funding for New York City if Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wins. He continued, “Taxpayer money at the federal level very frequently comes with strings attached.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 10/16/25]

  • Right-wing media figures defended deployment of the National Guard and have discussed Trump invoking the Insurrection Act

    • Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany said, “President Trump is absolutely within his right to say, I’m protecting federal property. That's what he did in Portland in 2020; it’s what he’s doing in Chicago now.” McEnany explained, “Congress also has the power to stop an insurrection and call up the militia. They delegated part of that power to the president of the United States via the Insurrection Act. So I think the White House is going to say, we’re dealing with rebellion here in Portland.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 9/29/25]
    • Former Acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey declared, “Donald Trump is exactly right to bring in the National Guard to Oregon.” Fahey continued, “I would suggest he should do this because it's time for this nonsense to stop, and it's time to enforce the law, and people obstructing ICE and hurting the agents should get locked up, and that should be the end of it.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 9/29/25]
    • Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino said Trump would be “on pretty solid ground” to invoke the Insurrection Act “if it’s to protect the ICE facilities” from protesters. Gasparino added, “I would love to see federal troops in downtown Manhattan — I don’t care.” [Fox News, Fox News Sunday, 9/28/25]
    • Jesse Watters said that the “National Guard is on the way to do the job Portland police won't do” and claimed that “Portland has been under siege by antifa for four months.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 10/1/25]
    • Fox News contributor Paul Mauro claimed Trump is on “very, very safe ground” to use the Insurrection Act. Mauro claimed that the Insurrection Act is “a carve-out to Posse Comitatus. You can use it to protect facilities and you can use it when federal law is being obstructed — that's the operative phrase right there. ICE is trying to enforce federal law. If they’re being obstructed, you can do this. What it means is he’s on very, very safe ground.” [Fox News, The Five, 10/1/25]
    • The Five co-host Harold Ford Jr.: “I've wished that we were able to send not only the National Guard, but ATF, and FBI, and other agencies in addition to ICE to help police departments combat crime.” [Fox News, The Five, 10/2/25]
    • Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said Trump “should invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy military assets to protect life and limb and property.” In response to a post about protests in Chicago, Fitton wrote, “This is an insurrection, and @GovPritzker is implicated.” [Twitter/X, 10/4/25]
    • Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe said Trump “should look at using the Insurrection Act more liberally in cities like Chicago or in cities like Portland, Oregon.” Boothe also remarked, “Portland is a hellhole. … Homeless everywhere, it’s disgusting.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 10/5/25]
    • Right-leaning podcast host Patrick Bet-David, responding to JB Pritzker: “Your people are begging for leadership and you’re not providing it. If you were able to do the job, the President wouldn’t need to step in.” [Twitter/X, 10/5/25; Media Matters, 3/14/25]
    • On Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, Jack Posobiec said that “the president has Title X authority to deploy and federalize the National Guard of the states” to “suppress an insurrection or rebellion against the authority of the United States government.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 10/6/25]
    • McEnany attempted to justify the deployment of the National Guard in Portland by declaring there is “a pretty clear rebellion against" the government. McEnany cited supposed acts of violence committed against ICE agents, and she additionally argued that Trump is on “strong legal footing” because “you can federalize the Guard if there's a rebellion.” [Fox News, The Five, 10/6/25]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt described footage of anti-ICE protests: “This is someone's front yard. This is what a neighborhood looks like. Do you want your neighborhood to look like that? Wouldn't you love National Guard to come in and clean up your streets if you lived like this?” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/6/25]
    • Benny Johnson, after going on a ride-along with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Portland, stated on Newsmax, “I hope they invoke the Insurrection Act. I hope that's something that happens here, because these people are clearly insurrecting.” [Newsmax, Finnerty, 10/7/25]