Trump ups threatening rhetoric before debate
Tonight marks the first presidential debate between Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris


What happened
Vice President Kamala Harris has been keeping a low profile in Pittsburgh while preparing for Tuesday's debate. Donald Trump, on social media and in speeches, has "escalated his vows to use the raw power of the state to impose and maintain control and to intimidate and punish anyone he perceives as working against him," The New York Times said.
Who said what
Over the weekend, Trump's rhetoric "turned more ominous with a pledge to prosecute anyone who 'cheats' in the election," The Associated Press said, repeating his false claims that he won in 2020 but was robbed of a second term by fraud. He also urged local police to "watch for the voter fraud," an "apparent attempt to enlist law enforcement that would be legally dubious."
Trump "believes anyone who breaks the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including criminals who engage in election fraud," campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. Strikingly, Trump himself "has been convicted of 34 felonies" in New York and "charged in both federal and state court with conspiring to fraudulently alter the outcome of the 2020 election," the Times said. And while some of his recent comments "could be discounted as his usual hyperbolic, norm-busting rhetoric, his record in office suggests" they "cannot be treated as unserious or figurative."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Journalists aren't going to suddenly start calling Trump an "emotionally unstable" would-be autocrat who's "running because he wants to stay out of prison, get revenge on his enemies, exercise untrammeled power and gain access to even more money," Tom Nichols said at The Atlantic. "But if Trump's comments this weekend are not the first questions at the debate — if his threat to democracy is not the only question — then there is no point in debates at all."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'Congress could help by providing federal protections'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plunge
Speed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target tourists
Speed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm markets
Speed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Climate: Trump's attempt to bring back coal
Feature Trump rolls back climate policies with executive orders aimed at reviving the coal industry
By The Week US
-
Trump's budget: Gutting Medicaid to pass tax cuts?
Feature To extend Trump's tax cuts, the GOP is looking to cut Medicaid and other assistance programs
By The Week US
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalism
Feature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
By The Week US
-
How 'China shock 2.0' will roil global markets
Feature An overflow of Chinese goods is flooding the global market. Tariffs won’t stop it.
By The Week US
-
Retribution: Trump calls for prosecution of critics
Feature Trump targets former officials who spoke out against him, sending a warning to future whistleblowers
By The Week US