When Trump shows you who he is…. Steve Benen examines Donald Trump’s recent campaign rhetoric about imprisoning political opponents: Last year, as his legal crises intensified, Donald Trump grew explicit about his intentions to retaliate against his perceived foes with politically motivated criminal cases. In September 2023, for example, the former president suggested he’d have “no choice” but to prosecute his political opponents in a possible second term. The Republican added soon after that when prosecutors took steps to hold him accountable for his crimes, “what they’ve done is they’ve released the genie out of the box.” (I assume he meant “bottle.”) This came on the heels of Trump vowing to appoint a “real” special prosecutor to go after President Joe Biden and his family. That’s all Trump means by “Great Again.” Be cruel and criminal enough that no one will dare cross him. That’s it. Sell ’em snake oil. Deliver retribution. Commit more crimes as president for his own sick pleasure and for MAGA’s entertainment. He plans to turn the U.S, as Rome turned, from “from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust.” Trump told Newsmax in a Tuesday interview: “So, you know, it’s a terrible, terrible path that they’re leading us to, and it’s very possible that it’s going to have to happen to them,” Trump said when discussing his guilty verdict. “Does that mean the next president does it to them? That’s really the question,” he added. Why does such bluster matter? Benen explains: 1. Trump is promising…