Politics

A key MAGA lawyer is out for revenge. Will Trump follow suit?

Published

2 years ago

November 11, 2024

A key MAGA lawyer is out for revenge. Will Trump follow suit?

The morning after his decisive victory, President-elect Donald Trump enjoyed a quiet day at Mar-a-Lago, occasionally talking with world leaders and “thinking about the future,” NBC News reported, citing a senior campaign official.

That official also told NBC that, in the wake of his win, Trump’s “bitterness” was gone, stating there’s been “no talk of” special counsel Jack Smith or New York Attorney General Letitia James, two of the prosecutors who have vexed Trump the most through their respective criminal and civil cases against him.

Given Trump’s history of deriding — and threatening — his perceived enemies, the official’s assessment warrants a healthy amount of skepticism. But even if Trump’s allegedly lighter mood lasts, it’s not entirely mirrored by his key allies, including those who frequently come up as potential contenders for leadership roles in the next Trump White House or the Justice Department. Indeed, among that group is Mike Davis, a prominent conservative lawyer whose qualifications for leading the DOJ or serving as White House counsel are matched only by his public thirst for revenge.

‘We want him in a very high capacity’

There is no question that Davis has the resume to compete for those jobs, with experience that includes serving as the lead nominations staffer for then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, during which he helped shepherd Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh through their confirmations. He has also clerked for Gorsuch, worked in George W. Bush’s DOJ, and served as an aide to then-House Speaker (and current Trump ally) Newt Gingrich.

But today, he is better known as the founder and president of the Article III Project, an organization that bills itself as bringing “brass knuckles to fight leftist lawfare,” and he commands serious attention and respect in the Trump world.

At an October campaign event in Colorado, where Davis primarily resides and practices law, Trump called him out by name, exclaiming, “This guy is tough as hell. … We want him in a very high capacity.” It’s moments like that that have prompted other outlets, like The Washington Post, to note Davis has “positioned himself to be a key adviser on legal issues and judicial selection.” And perhaps unsurprisingly, the Post also reported Davis had been “privately floated” by Trump as a potential attorney general.

Senate Judiciary Committee mike davis — Mike Davis, left, then-chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Commitee, stands next to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sept. 13, 2018.Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

Davis, for his part, has stated publicly he prefers Mark Paoletta, former general counsel for the Office of Management and Budget, for attorney general. Davis also said he would rather serve as Trump’s “viceroy” than as White House counsel, telling Trump adviser Steve Bannon in March that he would prefer to be a viceroy of Washington, D.C., “because I don’t like democracy.”

But here’s where things get scary. For a guy who disclaims any desire to fill an official role, he has been remarkably specific about what he thinks should happen next — and confident that it will.

For example, on Wednesday morning, when Trump was allegedly ebullient, Davis tweeted a very different “current mood”: “I want to drag their dead political bodies,” presumably referring to Democrats or some subgroup thereof, “through the streets, burn them, and throw them off the wall. (Legally, politically, and financially, of course.)”

And if that were not concerning enough, consider that on Wednesday and Thursday on X, Davis:

Instructed former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., to “lawyer up” because “[t]he evidence suggests you colluded with a key January 6th witness” — referring to Cassidy Hutchinson — “to commit perjury and obstruct a congressional investigation.” (There’s no evidence to suggest Cheney and Hutchinson did so.)
Dared New York Attorney General Letitia James to “continue [her] lawfare” because “we’re not messing around this time and we will put your fat ass in prison for conspiracy against rights.”
Suggested other state and federal prosecutors who have brought cases against Trump and his allies should be prosecuted “[o]nly for their real crimes. Like conspiracy against rights.”
Responded to NBC News’ report, based on one of his earlier posts, that Jack Smith could face “legal consequences,” with one sentence: “Fact check: True.”

Trump whisperer or just trolling the libs?

Is Davis, whom Donald Trump Jr. once called “the tip of the spear defending my father from these corrupt prosecutors,” a human crystal ball? Or is he just trolling the libs, a role he relishes? It’s purposefully messy. As Politico observed in a profile of Davis earlier this year, he “encapsulates a defining feature of conservatives in the Trump era: the dissolving barrier between reality and trolling, between serious political ideas and winking provocation.”

Of course, even if Davis were completely serious, he has no authority to put anyone in prison, much less indict them. And no court has found any merit to his accusation that prosecutors like James and Smith have maliciously prosecuted Trump, much less violated any criminal law.

Asked whether Davis is under consideration for any political appointments in the next Trump White House and whether the Trump transition team and/or the president-elect support Davis’ posts, Karoline Leavitt, the spokeswoman for the transition, offered only this statement on Thursday, “President-Elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration soon. Those decisions will be announced when they are made.”

BLN also sought comment from Davis, asking whether he genuinely believes Smith, James and Cheney should be prosecuted and whether he was speaking for himself and A3P, or whether his views are reflective of Trump and his transition team. A3P responded with a five-word statement on behalf of Davis on Thursday: “Nobody is above the law.”

Davis himself took to X on Friday to reiterate his support for Trump, but announce, “I am not going into his administration and am not under consideration for Attorney General.” He continued, “As I have made crystal clear, I do not speak for President Trump or anyone else.”

Still, NBC News reported Friday that while he is not leading Trump’s DOJ transition efforts, Davis is indeed among those involved, citing sources familiar with the matter.

So for my part, I intend to take Davis at his word as I watch for Trump’s transition announcements to begin in the coming days. But whether or not Davis takes a job in Washington, don’t count on his influence diminishing. And don’t expect him to forgive or forget.

Politics

Iowa’s last Democrat on how he can win in Trump country

Published

49 minutes ago

August 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Iowa’s last Democrat on how he can win in Trump country

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Politics

The other Dan Sullivan makes November ballot against Sen. Dan Sullivan

Published

10 hours ago

August 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Alaska GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan can’t shake his same-name challenger.

Retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan punched a ticket out of the state’s top-four, all-party primary early Wednesday morning. He could now play spoiler in a high-stakes Senate clash between the Republican senator and former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola that could help swing control of the upper chamber.

Republicans fought and failed to keep Dan J. Sullivan off the primary ballot, arguing he was a Democratic plant designed to boost Peltola. Both Dan J. Sullivan and Peltola’s campaign have denied any coordination.

The senator’s allies have already taken steps to mitigate the second Sullivan’s potential vote siphoning, in some cases running ads using the senator’s middle initial to help differentiate between the same-named candidates.

Supporters of the state’s ranked-choice voting system, which kicks in for the general election, argue the process helps curtail the spoiler effect. But the presence of other candidates could still skew the results of the battleground race. Outside groups flooded the primary with more than $2 million to boost myriad fringe candidates — and could do so again ahead of November.

It’s not smooth sailing for Peltola, either, as she wages an uphill battle to flip a red seat in a state President Donald Trump won by 13 percentage points in 2024. She recently replaced her campaign manager in a staffing shakeup ahead of the primary, among other internal moves.

Politics

‘It’s put up or shut up time’: Battleground Republicans want the Darline treatment

Published

10 hours ago

August 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump notched a major win on Tuesday night. Republicans in battlegrounds wonder if it was the best use of his time and money.

Sen. Darline Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in South Carolina’s snap Senate GOP runoff, handing Trump a revitalizing win after several of his endorsed candidates fell in recent primaries.

It was a victory that Graham, a complete political unknown six weeks ago, could not have pulled off without Trump’s steadfast support, underscoring just how much his influence still matters among the Republican electorate in the deeply conservative state.

But South Carolina’s Senate seat will not dictate the balance of power in Washington, and GOP strategists working on critical swing state campaigns are eager for Trump to finally direct his attention to them.

“The message coming out of this is that obviously the president’s support is still super powerful. The president’s operation still has the ability to move the needle in a lot of these states,” said a Republican strategist working on several battleground races, including in Georgia, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about Trump’s involvement. “Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come that the president is willing to get involved and really start to move the needle in some other places that obviously matter a little bit more than South Carolina.”

Trump’s persistent backing of Graham defined the race: He championed her appointment to her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham’s seat, he coaxed her into the race with an early endorsement, stood by her as she stumbled on the debate stage, and flew down to Myrtle Beach for a rare political rally that few of his chosen candidates have enjoyed this cycle. MAGA Inc., Trump’s behemoth super PAC, even spent a slice of highly sought after cash from its $400 million stockpile in the closing days of the race.

And yet, the president hasn’t taken a meaningful step into the states that will matter in a few short months — even as battleground Republicans have been clamoring for him to spend his MAGA Inc. money.

“It’s now or never. It’s put up or shut up time, and it’s really time to start to see if he’s going to get serious,” the GOP strategist said. “You’ve got September and October to really move the needle here, and it just doesn’t seem like there’s any sense of urgency, or like we understand that we are down big in some of these states.”

During her victory speech in Columbia, Graham acknowledged Trump’s heavy hand: “Our victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful,” Graham said of the president. “South Carolina is truly Trump country.”

Norman’s take on the president’s participation was not as rosy: “The president got involved. He has that right. That’s his prerogative,” Norman said in his concession speech Tuesday, prompting jeers from the crowd at his election night watch party. “Y’all,” he continued, “his policies are good. I never understood why he got in this race. It is what it is, and I’ll accept it.”

Norman’s bewilderment reflected several national and South Carolina Republicans’ confusion as to why the president would expend energy for the safe Republican seat when his MAGA allies like Mike Collins in Georgia, scandal-plagued Ken Paxton in Texas and Michael Whatley in North Carolina are facing tough Senate battles against Democratic opponents.

“There’s the principle,” said a North Carolina-based GOP strategist who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the battleground picture. “If you’re not Trump and you have these people shoved down your throat, you’re like, ‘Okay, are you gonna help?’”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some Republicans are worried that though Trump helped power Graham’s win, the president’s overall unpopularity may be more of a curse than a boon in any highly competitive battleground state. A series of Trump-backed candidates lost gubernatorial and congressional primaries in recent weeks, including in Georgia and Iowa.

Republicans overall are facing a tough election environment given the ongoing and unpopular war in Iran, backlash to the administration’s highly-visible deportation agenda and voters’ persistent cost of living concerns.

“You have a president and maybe even a vice president that are just so underwater politically in the polls, that they might be a help by not intervening,” said Matthew Bartlett, a GOP strategist and former State Department official in the first Trump administration.

Still, Trump swept the battlegrounds in 2024, and his ability to boost Graham despite her foreign policy debate gaffe and questions about her political inexperience serves as a reminder of his electoral prowess to campaign officials.

The question remains when — or if — he’ll throw them a presidential life raft.

“I wouldn’t count on the money if I were in these states,” said the North Carolina-based Republican strategist. “He still could. I’m just saying, I wouldn’t count on it. We’re not dealing with somebody that’s, you know, super calculated in the way they plan.”

For months, Republicans across the country have watched on as the president has continued to amass a remarkable pile of cash — and many have implored him to empty his pockets in their races. The president told reporters last week that he’ll spend “a lot of that money” to boost “Republican candidates that I think are good,” without being specific.

However, what some saw as a distraction from the greater Republican cause this year, others read as the first few drops of Trump’s cash flood.

“If they’re going to spend 800 grand in South Carolina, they’re going to spend in the midterms,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in Texas who worked on Sen. John Cornyn’s failed reelection campaign and is now backing the GOP ticket. “It signals they’re going to make a substantial investment in the midterms because you don’t make an 800-grand investment in South Carolina and say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to let everybody do their own thing.’ This was in some ways a test case.”

Trump’s targeted support for Graham — the kind that some Republicans are banking on to shift the dial later this fall — paid off for her in dividends on election night. Horry County, the site of the president’s marquee rally with the candidate late last week, resoundingly broke for Graham.

Trump’s backing also helped open the door to endorsements from key South Carolina Republican figures, including fellow GOP Sen. Tim Scott, who helped Graham shore up support in his Charleston-area home base, Gov. Henry McMaster, and two members of the state’s congressional delegation, Reps. Russell Fry and William Timmons.

Outside spending also proved crucial to Graham’s success. Her campaign and its allies outspent Norman by more than $5 million in the runoff alone, according to AdImpact.

Trump’s allies took a victory lap after Graham’s victory was confirmed Tuesday evening.

“The power of the Trump endorsement is alive and well in South Carolina,” said Mike Hahn, a GOP strategist involved in the midterms. “A good opening salvo for the team at MAGA Inc. and the president ahead of the midterms.”