'US quickly turning into a banana republic': Trump stokes outcry by urging Pam Bondi to target rivals

Top Democratic leaders lashed out at the US President Donald Trump’s administration after the American leader asked the Department of Justice to charge his enemies. The Democrats on Sunday warned that Trump’s drive to go after his political opponents is putting America on a path to becoming a dictatorship and a “banana republic.”

After the late-night show, 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' was cancelled over the host’s remarks on Charlie Kirk’s death, Trump unleashed a public demand for the Justice Department to take action against perceived enemies. Critics have been describing Trump’s recently aggressive behaviour as ‘authoritarian’.

“Trump is turning the Justice Department into an instrument that goes after his enemies, whether they’re guilty or not… is the path to a dictatorship,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN. “That’s what dictatorships do,” he added. Meanwhile, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy suggested that the United States was turning into a “banana republic.”

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“The president of the United States is now employing the full power of the federal government, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), the Department of Justice, to punish, lock up, take down off the air all of his political enemies,” Murphy said on ABC.

“This is one of the most dangerous moments America has ever faced. We are quickly turning into a banana republic,” he added.

Trump’s latest orders to ‘Pam’

In a social media post, addressing US Attorney General Pam Bondi as “Pam”, Trump fumed over the lack of legal action against California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats.

It is pertinent to note that both Smith and James are among a handful of people who have been accused by a close Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump said.

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On Friday, the president sacked a federal prosecutor who was overseeing the probe into James, after the attorney reportedly insisted there was insufficient evidence to charge her with mortgage fraud. Erik Siebert, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, told staff of his resignation via an email on Friday, which was obtained by The New York Times.

“I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so,” Trump said Saturday, apparently referencing the probe into James. A day before the post, when asked by a reporter about the case, Trump said, “I am not following it very closely. It looks to me like she’s very guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”

After Trump left the White House in 2021, it was James who brought a major civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favourable bank loans or insurance terms. A state judge then ordered Trump to pay US$464 million in that suit, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment.

With inputs from AFP.