(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump gave an unprecedented speech at the Department of Justice, delivering political remarks at an agency where presidents have usually attempted to maintain a distance to avoid politicizing it.
While previous presidents have spoken at the department to announce policy changes or crime-fighting initiatives, Trump delivered a purely political speech that included repeats of topics he often used in campaign rallies.
In an unprecedented statement, Trump suggested that criticisms of judges and the legal courts should be illegal, and it should also be illegal for the press to describe the elections in any way that is different than how he characterizes his victory.
Without naming names, in reference to the 2020 election, Trump also said that “people who did this to us should go to jail,” an apparent reference to Democrats.
Trump vowed to make the DOJ “more respectful” with his appointed leadership. In his remarks, he introduced a number of people in leadership roles at the agency and expounded on his victory in the election.
During a tirade against the FBI, the president touted his actions to revoke security clearances for those who had investigated him and the removal of FBI agents associated with Jan. 6 investigations, both unprecedented actions.
In a repeat of his campaign speeches, Trump called the Bidens a “crime family” and falsely accused former President Joe Biden of “importing” criminals into the U.S.
Trump also vowed to rid D.C. of crime and homelessness, suggesting the federal government could take over the city’s administration if leaders did not act to his satisfaction.
The president veered off the topic of law enforcement to repeat familiar campaign topics, including the assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, his claims that the country was “ruined” over the past four years and talking about lowering prices. He falsely claimed that the prices of gas and eggs have fallen when they have not.
Inflation has already increased during Trump’s term, and economists have warned that the trade wars he has ignited will raise prices for consumers. The uncertainty has roiled the stock market, and consumer confidence has been on the decline.
In a return to the topic of justice, Trump praised Judge Aileen Cannon, who he appointed and who dismissed the classified documents in a ruling that contradicted decades of legal precedent.
During his speech, the president kept returning to the cases against him, accusing lawyers of “playing the refs” against him, referring to judges and suggesting that press coverage criticizing judges influenced them and should be “illegal.”
Trump did not reach the topic of immigration and crime, ostensibly the focus of his remarks, until roughly 45 minutes into his speech.
During his speech, Trump brought up a woman whose son died after taking an illegal drug and who praised his election as good for American safety.
He also repeated the narrative that he imposed tariffs to fight fentanyl trafficking, though Canada has said very small amounts of fentanyl cross the border, and Mexico has been taking action to reduce fentanyl trafficking. The president even praised some of Mexico’s strategies, saying the U.S. would be adopting an ad campaign against fentanyl as part of U.S. efforts to combat drug trafficking.
The decision to speak at the Justice Department is unusual for a sitting president, though not unprecedented. Presidents typically keep the department at arm’s length to avoid politicizing it — but Trump contends it has been politicized already.
As far as federal institutions go, few have drawn Trump’s ire quite like the DOJ. Trump signed an executive order the day of his inauguration aimed at rooting out what he called “weaponization of the federal government” from top to bottom.
Trump’s 2024 campaign rhetoric focused on the same topics he is expected to address Friday. His presidential run coincided with his own legal troubles.
Department of Justice overhaul
One of the biggest factors in the DOJ’s changing landscape is who is in charge, and their initiatives.
Trump’s new departmental leadership includes Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI head Kash Patel.
Blanche was once Trump’s personal lawyer for his criminal cases.
Bondi was a senior adviser on Trump’s first impeachment defense team, and she was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his New York hush money criminal trial that ended last May with a conviction on 34 felony counts.
In addition to his conviction for falsifying business records, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in 2023.
During Bondi’s first month in the position, her confirmation hearing promise that the DOJ would not “play politics” has come under fire.
In late January, DOJ officials fired several prosecutors who worked on Trump’s criminal cases, saying they could not be trusted.
“In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government,” a DOJ official said in a statement.
Trump has instructed the DOJ to terminate all U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Joe Biden, contending a “clean house” is needed to move forward.
NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.