Michael Flynn and Roger Stone are spending time with former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mike Lindell is warming up a Trump rally crowd and Steve Bannon is talking election strategy with Donald Trump Jr. on his show. Paul Manafort and Corey Lewandowski may be in the Trump fold, too. Trump is embracing his crew of convicted criminals, conspiracy theorists and the most outlandish of his high-profile backers. They played key roles in some of the most infamous aspects of his past campaigns and his presidency — particularly the effort to overturn the 2020 election that culminated in a mob storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — and their influence could have real-world implications, reports USA Today. While Trump distanced himself from many of these people, firing or forcing the resignation of Bannon, Flynn, Lewandowski and Manafort, he pardoned many of them after they faced legal jeopardy, largely stemming from their work for him.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who chaired the House committee investigating Jan 6, 2021, said, "To bring them back in a campaign given their demonstrated lack of respect for the rule of law, it's a bad sign." Political experts foresee an explosive second Trump administration stocked with extreme figures who might feel empowered to pursue an agenda unconstrained by the rule of law, or traditional democratic norms and values. A future Trump administration likely would be staffed by loyalists, sycophants and "radicals," said Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "It will be the most frightening administration in American history times 100," Sabato said.