Trump shares poll showing voters link potential second term with 'revenge'

Republican presidential contender and former president Donald Trump has posted a poll on Truth Social, highlighting that the word voters most associate with a potential second term under his command is "revenge."

With campaigning ramping up ahead of the first Republican nomination contest, the post followed a separate Truth Social message on Christmas Day on Tuesday, in which the former president called on his political opponents to "rot in hell."

The fact Trump re-posted the poll, presented in the form of a word cloud with "revenge" placed centrally in bright red capital letters, suggests his self-described "retribution" agenda is very much on his mind as the United States heads into an election year.

The poll was conducted by British pollster J.L. Partners.

Trump and many of his allies have been pledging to investigate, incarcerate and otherwise take revenge on his political opponents if he wins the 2024 presidential election in a likely re-match against Democratic President Joe Biden.

Facing dozens of federal charges, many related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, Trump claims he is himself the victim of a revenge campaign orchestrated by Biden and his Justice Department.

Trump, 77, the clear frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, denies any wrongdoing.

Earlier in December, former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Kash Patel, both of whom are still close to the former president, said on a podcast that Trump was "dead serious" about exacting revenge against perceived enemies.

Trump himself has repeatedly promised retribution against his political opponents during a potential second term, suggesting he would direct federal law enforcement agencies to investigate foes.

In an interview with conservative media personality Sean Hannity earlier in December, Trump pledged not to abuse his power or become a dictator "except on day one."

Taken together, Trump's comments portend a rough-and-tumble election season.

The Iowa caucus, which kicks off the Republican presidential nominating contest, is set for January 15, and Trump and his allies will be hosting a slew of campaign events in the state starting January 3.

Trump's main rivals for the Republican nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, will also be campaigning hard in Iowa and the second nominating state of New Hampshire in coming days.

'MAY THEY ROT IN HELL'

In the Tuesday social media post, Trump shared the results of a poll commissioned by DailyMail.com, in which voters were asked to provide a word they most associate with Trump's plans for a second term.

The results, presented in the form of a word cloud, indicated that "revenge" was the most popular choice.

"Power," "dictatorship," "economy", and "America" rounded off the top five.

In the December 25 Truth Social post, Trump directed his attacks toward those who disagreed with him politically, whom he called "thugs".

"MAY THEY ROT IN HELL," Trump wrote. "AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

In a December 21 memo, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez portrayed Trump's candidacy as a threat to democracy.

"He is running a campaign on revenge and retribution – and at the expense of Americans' freedoms," she wrote.

Trump's legal challenges

Trump was indicted in Washington in August for conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction for his efforts to upend the results of the 2020 election.

He faces similar election-related charges in Georgia and has been indicted in Florida for alleged mishandling of top secret documents after leaving the White House.

However, Trump says he kept the documents under the Presidential Records Act.

The Presidential Records Act of 1978 gives incumbent presidents exclusive responsibility for the custody and management of the presidential records of their administration while in office.

According to the National Archives, the National Archives and Records Administration has no formal role in how incumbent presidents manage their records.