Trump’s war on his perceived enemies is escalating: faster, broader, harsher

Trump is weaponising the presidency to punish critics, silence dissent, and brand whole states as 'the enemy'.

Today I want to talk about the dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s attacks on its enemies, using whatever means are at its disposal. To date, I’ve logged 172 actions against perceived enemies since Jan 2025. Over half of these actions have come in just the last two months.

Below is a chart of the number of attacks on enemies by month, disaggregated by the target of the attack. Significant growth in attacks against anyone now thwarting or criticizing Trump’s agenda is what is driving the recent escalation.

What’s striking is not just the increase in the number of attacks, but how quickly the circle of “enemies” has widened. What began as a campaign against Biden officials and January 6th investigators has grown into an assault on anyone with power or influence who resists Trump - judges, lawyers, politicians, business leaders, journalists, celebrities, and even whole cities and states. The message is clear: challenge Trump, and you’ll be punished. In what follows, I break down the types of people who are being targeted (previous administrations, institutions, states/cities, individuals) and how the tools of state have been weaponised.

Settling scores with previous administrations

Trump began his second term going after familiar foes such as the Biden administration, anyone involved in investigating the January 6^th insurrection, and intelligence officers who had criticised him. These early actions framed the Biden administration as the core enemy, enabling a purge of anyone seen as complicit in past “witch hunts”.

Attacks on the Biden administration continued over the past 7 months (including investigating Biden’s cognitive decline, anyone involved in investigating Trump, including former special prosecutor Jack Smith, or anyone debunking Trump’s ‘stolen 2020 election’ narrative).

More recently, this has escalated with sustained attacks against Obama’s inner circle and those investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump’s own appointees from his first term have not been immune, with a recent FBI raid on John Bolton, once his national security advisor but now critical of the president.

Attacking companies or institutions

While most of Trump’s direct attacks have been against individuals, there are also specific institutions that he sees as key as thwarting his agenda. These have been systematically targeted.

Media firms have been singled out repeatedly, with networks such as CNN and outlets like the New York Times branded as purveyors of “fake news”, and threatened with lawsuits. Some, like CBS, who gave air time to opponents during the election were sued and hastily settled. Public broadcasting has been almost entirely defunded, damaging the viability of networks such as NBC or PBS. Last week, Trump threatened ABC and NBC with loss of their licenses because they reported his low approval ratings and he threatened NBC over its extension of Trump critic Seth Myer’s late-night show. International and independent news organisations, Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg, lost their permanent access to the White House press pool. Even the right wing Wall Street Journal has been sued and threatened with investigations after its Epstein reporting.

Law firms representing previous Trump opponents or mounting legal challenges to Trump’s current policies have faced federal scrutiny or withdrawal of access that affects their ability to do business. Many firms have quietly agreed to undertake hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of pro bono for the administration.

Other organisations have been slapped down if they step out of line. Amazon was threatened with investigation if they published the costs of tariffs; the left’s main fundraising body ActBlue was threatened with restrictions on its fundraising sources; NGOs taking the administration to court have been threatened with losing their tax exempt status; Media Matters which investigates hate speech on X is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission; and the Federal Reserve as an institution has been threatened over its refusal to lower interest rates.

Blue states and cities under attack

It started with cuts to funding with Congress cutting funds to DC and Trump cutting federal funds to California, citing its climate policies and resistance to Trump’s agenda. The administration sued New York for blocking access to immigrants for detention and Trump threatened to cut off federal funds if Democrat nominee for New York mayor, Mamdani, “doesn’t behave”.

In June, Trump directed ICE to target Democrat cities for its deportation drives. This ended with Democrat strongholds in California and Washington DC coming under military control. The administration deployed both the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles on the flimsiest of excuses, while ICE agents ran wild. A federal court has just ruled this militarisation illegal. In August, Trump put DC under federal control, deploying the National Guard and the FBI. He used emergency powers that only last 30 days, but has said he wants long term control. Yesterday, he promised to send troops to Chicago and Baltimore despite both cities asking him to stay away.

This represents a profound escalation as Trump explicitly brands – and treats – Democrat strongholds as the enemy. A week ago, Trump’s deputy chief of staff called the Democratic party “a domestic extremist organization”.

Attacking powerful individuals

Since May, Trump’s focus has shifted decisively toward powerful individuals, who now make up almost half of all those targeted. The net has widened to encompass almost anyone visible in public life who challenges him.

Judges and lawyers: Trump and his allies have attacked judges by names, including their families. Some have had misconduct claims filed against them, been sanctioned, or even been arrested. A senior FBI agent was fired for refusing to provide the names of agents investigating January 6^th.

Journalists and media figures have been singled out by name, with Trump calling for MSNBC and CNN anchors and even a Fox news host to be fired for critical reporting. A senior CBS executive resigned following public pressure from Trump.

Federal employees: Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve (the US’ independent central bank), has repeatedly been attacked and threatened with spurious fraud investigations. Trump attempted to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook after she was targeted for alleged mortgage fraud. The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency was fired for his preliminary assessment that the US had not obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Democratic politicians: Democrat governors, national and state congress people are verbally threatened with arrests or directly removed from immigration facilities or press conferences. Trump called Pelosi “a disgusting degenerate” and has started investigations into Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James on unevidenced claims of mortgage fraud.

Republican critics: Senator Thom Tillis, who opposed Trump’s NATO threats, will not stand for election again after Trump threatened to run a loyalist against him at the next election. Last week, Trump threatened to investigate New Jersey Governor Chris Christie over an old political scandal after Christie criticised his weaponisation of the Justice Department.

Business figures are harangued or threatened with deportation if they publicly criticise the administration or stand in the way of Trump’s perceived interests. Celebrities are verbally attacked (Taylor Swift), threatened with investigations (Bruce Springsteen, Oprah, Beyonce), or even loss of citizenship (Rosie O’Donnell).

In Trump’s America, anyone who resists, from judges to journalists, politicians to pop stars, is branded an enemy and threatened accordingly.

How the weaponisation works

Trump’s campaign against enemies combines the megaphone of the presidency with the levers of the state, making resistance both personally and professionally costly.

His playbook includes:

The Bully Pulpit: Using Truth Social, friendly broadcast outlets, and rallies to name and shame individuals. This isn’t just political rhetoric: for those targeted, it brings death threats, harassment, and fear for their families.

De-Election Threats: Republican lawmakers who criticise Trump are threatened with being primaried or losing endorsements.

Weaponised investigations: Federal agencies are deployed to open probes into opponents on flimsy grounds such as alleged tax evasion, mortgage fraud, or corruption, forcing them into costly and stressful legal battles..

Direct coercion, firings and arrests: Mayors, legislators, and even judges have been detained or removed under spurious pretexts. Those that can be fired, are fired.

Attacking the financial viability of organisations, e.g. through tax, lawsuits, or denying access to key resources.

The effect is cumulative: the constant threat of harassment, legal pressure, and public vilification wears down opponents, discourages dissent, and isolates targets.

Conclusion

Seven months into his second term, Trump has turned the machinery of the state, the courts, and the loudspeaker of the presidency into tools of personal retribution, ensuring that no judge, journalist, official, politician, business leader or cultural figure is beyond his reach.

Given a lack of effective pushback, Trump will only continue to escalate his attacks on critics. Already the stage is being set to brand opponents as enemies of the state, and norms have been broken by sending the American military to ‘problem’ cities. If this is what seven months in looks like, there is real danger in how much further Trump is willing to go.

ADDENDUM: Note on categorisation of actions

For this piece, I’ve included any actions directly taken in retaliation for perceived criticism or as directly thwarting the will of the administration. I’m particularly interested in actions that weaponise some function of the state to do so (e.g. launching investigations, threatening with arrests, or firing), but have also included verbal attacks (e.g. on journalists at press conferences, or social media such as posts decrying judges).

Generally, I’ve excluded the various mass firings of federal employees or purging of Biden era as I consider those to be mostly about dismantling the state and installing loyalists throughout the administration. Exceptions are where firings or attacks are demonstrably because of specific actions such as investigating Trump or Jan 6^th.

I’ve also excluded the many and sustained attacks on universities, because I consider this more a part of Trump’s attacks on science and perceived elites, rather than individuals or institutions he directly perceives as enemies. Admittedly, some institutions like Columbia or Harvard might be borderline.