--- title: "Trump says he could have harmed political rivals" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-could-have-harmed-political-rivals" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/trump-says-he-could-have-harmed-political-rivals" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-could-have-harmed-political-rivals.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/trump-says-he-could-have-harmed-political-rivals" category: "Politics" published: "2026-10-07T23:45:41.653Z" source_reported: "2026-10-07T20:53:00.000Z" updated: "2026-10-07T23:45:41.653Z" trust_score: 42 critic_score: 61 hype_score: 41 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-07T23:45:14.307812+00:00" --- # Trump says he could have harmed political rivals *Former president stated he refrained from 'very bad things' out of respect for the presidency* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 42 of 100, higher is better. Central claim attributed to Trump, but relies on anonymous sourcing for context and lacks specific dates or locations. - Craft 61 of 100, higher is better. Reporting is clear and holds together, but lacks quotes from those affected and doesn't detail what happens next. - Hype 41 of 100, lower is better. Headline promises more than the body delivers, with mild emphasis and a lively but fair headline. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - Donald Trump stated he could have done 'very bad things' to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama. - Trump made these remarks in the Oval Office, explaining he refrained from such actions out of respect for the presidency. - He also stated that he can now 'do whatever I want.' - House Speaker Mike Johnson warned Democrats may seek to impeach Trump if they regain control of the House. Donald Trump told reporters that he could have taken severe action against Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama. He stated that he refrained from doing 'very bad things' to these political figures out of respect for the office of the presidency. Trump made these remarks in the Oval Office. He also stated that he can now 'do whatever I want.' The comments came as Trump discussed potential impeachment by Democrats. House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned that Democrats are 'raring to go' and may seek to impeach Trump if they reclaim the House. Trump stated that he had been impeached twice, but was not removed from office. ## Disagreement on Trump's motivation The Independent reported that Trump made the comments while discussing potential impeachment by Democrats, and that he stated he refrained from 'very bad things' out of respect for the presidency. Politicus USA reported that Trump threatened to take action against Clinton, Obama, and Biden if he were impeached again. Mediaite reported that Trump warned he can do 'whatever he wants' to top Democrats like Obama and Clinton, and that his restraint was a factor. ## What the coverage left out None of the left-rated digests mention the warning from House Speaker Mike Johnson about potential Democratic impeachment efforts. The centre-rated digest from The Hill also omits this detail. The right-rated digests do not include the specific wording of Trump's comments about respecting the presidency or his statement that he can now 'do whatever I want.' ## Who covered it Shares of the 11 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 73% (8) - Centre: 9% (1) - Right: 18% (2) 0 of 11 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-07T23:45:14.307812+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 2 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-08T00:15:11.288Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - Eight left-rated reports led on Trump's statement that he 'could have done very bad things' to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama. Several of these reports, including The Independent (US) and Joe.My.God., included Trump's full quote about respecting the presidency and his subsequent statement that he can now 'do whatever I want.' Raw Story described the remarks as a 'bizarre impeachment rant.' Politicus USA framed Trump's comments as a threat to take action against the Democrats if impeached again. Mediaite reported Trump warned he could do 'whatever he wants' to top Democrats. ### Centre - The centre-rated report from The Hill led on Trump's statement that he could have done 'bad things' to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama, linking it to impeachment discussions. ### Right - Two right-rated reports, Times of India and The National Desk, led with Trump's statement that he 'could've done very bad things' to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama. Both digests noted that Trump cited respect for the presidency as his reason for not acting. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - mixed: 3 - high: 7 - unknown: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Times of India](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/i-couldve-done-very-bad-things-to-hillary-biden-obama-trump-erupts-over-dems-impeachment-call/videoshow/134774475.cms) — ‘I could’ve done very bad things to Hillary, Biden, Obama’: Trump erupts over Dems’ impeachment call - [The National Desk](https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/trump-says-i-couldve-done-very-bad-things-to-hillary-clinton-obama-biden-oval-office-democrats-congress-midterms-impeach) — Trump says 'I could've done very bad things to Hillary Clinton,' Obama, Biden - [Joe.My.God.](https://joemygod.com/2026/10/trump-i-could-have-done-very-bad-things-to-hillary-biden-and-obama-i-can-do-whatever-i-want-video) — Trump: “I Could Have Done Very Bad Things To Hillary, Biden, And Obama, I Can Do Whatever I Want” - [The Daily Boulder](https://dailyboulder.com/trump-says-he-could-have-done-very-bad-things-to-obama-clinton-and-biden-as-he-warns-dems-could-impeach-him) — Trump says he could have done ‘very bad things’ to Obama, Clinton and Biden when asked about impeachment - [Raw Story](https://rawstory.com/trump-impeachment-2678021977) — Trump bizarre impeachment rant stuns Oval Office onlookers: 'This is not normal' - [The Independent](https://independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-obama-biden-hillary-press-conference-b3063044.html) — Trump: I ‘could have done very bad things’ to Hillary, Obama and Biden - [The Independent (US)](https://the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-obama-biden-hillary-press-conference-b3063044.html) — Trump: I ‘could have done very bad things’ to Hillary, Obama and Biden - [Politicus USA](https://politicususa.com/p/trump-threatens-to-after-clinton) — Trump Threatens To After Clinton, Obama, And Biden If He Is Impeached Again - [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6134441-democrats-potential-impeachment-efforts) — Trump: I could have done ‘bad things’ to Hillary Clinton, Biden, Obama - [Mediaite](https://mediaite.com/media/tv/trump-ominously-says-he-can-do-bad-things-to-top-democrats-i-can-do-whatever-i-want) — Donald Trump Warns He Do 'Anything' to Top Dems Like Obama - [The New Republic](https://newrepublic.com/post/216360/trump-i-can-do-very-bad-things-enemies-whatever-i-want) — Trump Declares He Can Do “Very Bad Things” to His Enemies if He Wants ## Questions **What did Donald Trump say about Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama?** Donald Trump stated in the Oval Office that he could have done 'very bad things' to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama. He explained that he chose not to act out of respect for the office of the presidency. He also added that he can now 'do whatever I want.' **Why did Donald Trump say he refrained from taking action against political rivals?** Donald Trump stated that he refrained from doing 'very bad things' to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama because he believed it was inappropriate and that one must treat the office of the presidency with respect. He made these comments in the Oval Office. **What warning has been issued regarding potential impeachment of Donald Trump?** House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned that Democrats are 'raring to go' and may seek to impeach Donald Trump if they regain control of the House of Representatives. Trump himself mentioned being impeached twice previously. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-could-have-harmed-political-rivals. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Trump says he could have harmed political rivals", https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-could-have-harmed-political-rivals