Standing before the Conservative Political Action Conference in early March, Donald Trump regaled the right-wing faithful with this remarkable declaration: "I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution."

It was, make no mistake about it, a direct threat aimed at Democrats, anti-Trump Republicans, those who reject Trump's phony election-fraud claims and any other American who doesn't toe the MAGA line.

Now Trump and his presidential campaign's inner circle are openly telegraphing how they plan to make good on that vow should he be returned to the White House. Which should make it more obvious than ever that America cannot risk that outcome in next year's presidential election.

An analysis by The New York Times of the Trump team's goals in a second term paints a disquieting picture of a former president who has always believed he should be accountable to no one, and is now eager to re-shape the powers of the presidency to reflect that twisted imperative.

Based on a review of campaign policy materials and interviews with Trump's inner circle, the Times reports that a primary goal of a second Trump term would be to bring the whole of the federal government under the president's direct control, including agencies that by law or tradition are currently independent of the White House.

Most notably, Trump wants to do away with the crucial wall of independence the Justice Department has from the White House — a truly chilling proposal, given Trump's plainly stated goal of personally ordering criminal investigations of President Joe Biden and other political opponents.

The MAGA narrative, of course, is that the Biden administration has already weaponized the Justice Department with its indictment of Trump for his willful mishandling of classified documents. This is nonsense. There's no indication that President Biden intervened in the investigation. Here, Trump's defenders display a political version of what the psychologists call "projection": ascribing one's own mindset to an adversary.

Team Trump also wants complete control over independent agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees consumer protection rules on businesses, and the Federal Communications Commission, which enforces rules regarding the internet and the airwaves.

In addition, Trump plans to remove civil service protection from tens of thousands of government employees, which would allow him to essentially turn them into a patronage army instead of quasi-independent professionals. And he would conduct a purge of the Defense and intelligence branches of those he deems insufficiently loyal.

Perhaps most significantly, he seeks the power to "impound" funds approved by Congress — that is, refuse to spend them as Congress intended — a power that Congress stripped from President Richard Nixon more than half a century ago and that no president has had since. The implications for environmental protection and myriad other federal functions are profound.

Maya Angelou's apt if over-quoted advice — "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time" — has perhaps never been more relevant.

Trump's first term was characterized by brazen, repeated attempts to push against the very kinds of presidential guardrails he has now effectively announced he plans to dismantle. In particular, Trump's attempts to use the Justice Department as his personal law firm and police force against real and perceived enemies stands out.

So does his often-stated admiration for the world's despots, in particular Russia's Vladimir Putin. Not to mention Trump's post-presidential call for the "termination" of parts of the Constitution to facilitate his return to office. In short, this isn't someone who should wield even the presidency's current powers, let alone expanded ones.

The Times' report isn't based on outside conjecture or anonymous sources. These are the things Trump and his advisers are openly saying they want. Should Trump regain office and implement his Putin-esque ideal of turning the federal government into an American Kremlin, his fantasy of "retribution" toward a great many Americans — and American institutions — may be the least of the nation's worries.

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