Donald the pussy-grabbing caudillo has plans for his main political opponent:

It’s at this juncture that the Republican nominee—already teetering on the edge of decorum—went off the rails. He accused Clinton of starting the “birther” conspiracy; he questioned her friendship with Michelle Obama; he accused Clinton of rigging the Democratic primary to rob Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders of the election; and he slammed her for her emails, all leading to an explosion of contempt and menace. “If I win,” said Trump, “I’m going to instruct the attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation because there’s never been so many lies, so much deception.” He continued: “[W]e’re going to get a special prosecutor because people have been, their lives have been destroyed for doing one fifth of what you’ve done.” And when Clinton gave her response—“It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law of our country”—Trump jumped in with a quip. “Because you’d be in jail.” There’s no charitable read here, or at least not one that respects the rules and structure of the English language. Trump’s meaning is plain.

Let us travel back to a simpler, more innocent time in America, when the Manson family was engaging in ritual mass murder in an attempt to start a race war, and Richard Nixon made an off the cuff remark about their ongoing trial. This was considered so beyond the pale that he immediately walked it back:

Defense attorneys for Manson, Leslie Van Houten, and Susan Atkins-who face charges of murder stemming from the mass killings last August of actress Sharon Tate and six other persons-moved for a mistrial yesterday after learning that Nixon had said that Manson was “guilty, directly or indirectly, of eight murders without reason.” Trial Judge Charles N. Holder denied the motion pending an official version of the Nixon remarks, but a defense attorney said the judge was “alarmed” at the report. . . Nixon made the remarks during an impromptu press briefing at a law enforcement conference in Denver. He criticized the press, saying that it tends to “glorify and to make heroes out of those who engage in criminal activities.” Referring to the Manson case, Nixon said, “here is a man who was guilty, directly or indirectly, of eight murders without reason.” Nixon said that “as far as the coverage was concerned [Manson] appeared to be rather a glamorous figure.” In Los Angeles, defense attorney Paul Fitzgerald told reporters, “If we’re going to have the chief executive of this nation categorically or uncategorically speculate on people’s guilt, we ought to abandon this court system. Maybe President Nixon in a news conference ought to determine whether these people are guilty.” . . . Immediately after Nixon made the remarks in Denver, Ronald V. Ziegler, Presidential press secretary, called reporters together to “clarify” the President’s statement. Ziegler said that Nixon “failed to use the word ‘alleged'” in his statement. “The phrase he used could lead to some misinterpretation,” Ziegler added. Asked if the “clarification” was a retraction of the Nixon statement, Ziegler answered, “I believe I’ve done that.” Attorney General John N. Mitchell, who was present when Nixon made the statement, said later, “I don’t believe the President made the charge or implied one.”

Nixon himself was of course a criminal of the first order, but imagine if he hadn’t been pardoned by Ford, and Jimmy Carter had promised during a presidential debate to put Nixon (not his actual opponent Ford, mind you, but Richard M. Nixon himself) in jail if he, Carter, were elected. You can’t imagine that because at the time a major American political party had not gone insane.

I’ve got blisters on my fingers.