During his presidency in the early 1970s, Richard Nixon felt pressured by his political opponents. In response, his staff created a secret list of people considered to be enemies of the administration. This list included journalists, Democratic politicians, and civil rights leaders who publicly disagreed with Nixon's policies.
The purpose of this list was sinister. A White House memo bluntly stated the goal was to 'screw' their political enemies. The plan was to use the power of the federal government to harass them. This meant using agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate their taxes and create legal troubles.
Decades later, President Donald Trump also identified and attacked his opponents. However, his method was fundamentally different from Nixon's. Instead of keeping his targets a secret, Trump spoke about them publicly. He used large rallies and social media to name and shame anyone he saw as an enemy, from political rivals to government workers.
While Nixon's actions were hidden and discovered during the Watergate scandal, Trump's were performed in the open. The danger, some observers argue, is how this normalizes using government power for personal fights. By openly declaring his intentions, Trump created a new and more direct challenge to the nation's political traditions.
The key distinction lies in the secrecy versus the spectacle. Nixon's secret list was a scandal because it was a hidden abuse of power. Trump’s open declarations of using his powerful position against opponents represent a different kind of threat, one that attacks the unwritten rules of democracy in full view of the public.