Everyone’s prone to a violent fantasy or two. Most people keep them to themselves lest people mistake them for a sociopath.
Lawyer and Donald Trump ally Mike Davis doesn’t care what you think. He doesn’t suppress his brutal wish casting; he airs it on social media. A Wednesday post, published soon after the election was called for Trump, might be his most graphic yet.
“Here’s my current mood: I want to drag their dead political bodies through the streets, burn them, and throw them off the wall,” Davis said. “F**k unity!”
Ladies and gentlemen, that’s your next (maybe) attorney general.
In normal times, a bomb-thrower like Davis, 46, wouldn’t even be considered for such a prestigious post. And even if he was, there’d be little to no shot of Senate confirmation. Davis himself has said he doesn’t think he’d be confirmed, and until now, no one would’ve argued that a self-confessed troll known for making “jokes” about executing members of the press, threatening to “cage children” and vowing to throw political rivals into “the gulag” had no chance at earning such a prestigious promotion.
But circumstances have changed. Republicans are treating Trump’s election win as a mandate, according to Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, and the Senate will grant him wide latitude to enact his agenda.
“Well, I think the Senate is going to give great deference to a president that just won a stunning, what I think is an Electoral College landslide,” the Florida senator said.
Rubio was responding to a question about the possible nomination of controversial anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead one of the nation’s health agencies. If Rubio is open to RFK Jr., then why not Davis?
The past comments that would be kryptonite to any past nominee only endear him to Trump.
The Washington Post reports he floated Davis’ name for the attorney general’s opening in 2018, and last month, he sang the attorney’s praises before a crowd of supporters in Aurora, Colorado, “The founder or president of the Article III Project, this guy is tough as hell. We want him in a very high capacity.”
“Donald Trump loves him,” Caroline Wren, the GOP fundraiser, told Politico. “If he isn’t the attorney general, he’s going to play some sort of role.”
Davis used to be part of the GOP establishment, clerking at the Supreme Court and serving as the chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley. But now, he’s what Bannon calls “a full f***ing warrior.” Davis’ fiery demeanor goes well with his thick shock of red hair — a real fighter, a quality Trump seems to favor more than any other.
It seems more likely Davis would act as a tool for revenge than a fair arbiter. He seems to interpret the law based on how it might impact Trump.
In an October interview, Davis called for the cultivation of a list of politicians, lawyers and media members who should be investigated on “day one” of Trump’s second term. He may later dismiss this as trolling, but it seems dead serious to many.
“Here’s the bottom line,” Davis said. “On January 20th after Trump is sworn in, Trump’s acting attorney general on day one must open a criminal probe on all of these partisan Democrat clowns who have engaged in this illegal conspiracy against Trump, his top aides like Steve Bannon who is unfairly, unjustly sitting in prison right now, Peter Navarro …”
Davis then suggested who should be targeted.
“Yeah, I would say that it’s Jack Smith, Jay Bratt, his counselor, you have big Fani Willis, her dumb, unqualified boyfriend Nathan Wade,” Davis said. “You have big Tish James in New York, you have the New York Attorney General who is engaged in this illegal lawfare and election interference, this criminal conspiracy against rights. Judge Juan Merchan, his daughter Loren Merchan, Judge Arthur Engoren, I mean it never ends, how many people are involved with this criminal conspiracy against rights under 18 U.S.C, Section 241.”
Davis has exalted status in MAGA world due to his frequent appearances on Steve Bannon’s podcast. He also appears to have the endorsement of Donald Trump Jr.
In 2023, he previewed what would happen if he were put in charge of the Department of Justice. “During my three-week reign of terror as Trump acting attorney general before I get chased out of town with my Trump pardon, I will rain hell on Washington, DC,” he told far-right YouTuber Benny Johnson.
The audition continues.
