If he wins reelection, former president Donald Trump will probably seek revenge on his political enemies. Less than a week before the Iowa caucuses, Trump remains the front-runner, but it’s unclear how that message of retribution will play with the general electorate. 

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On the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, former president Donald Trump stood at a lectern in Iowa and applauded those who have been charged with participating in the riot and called on President Biden to release the rioters who are incarcerated, who Trump said were “hostages.”

And that message may be resonating with Republicans. A recent poll conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland found that over the past two years, Republican voters seemed to have softened their perspective on Jan. 6, and particularly whether Trump had any responsibility for the attack. 

National political reporter Isaac Arnsdorf joins us today to explain how Republicans’ feelings about Trump have shifted and the Trump campaign’s strategy to secure a victory in the primaries. 

Today’s show was produced by Arjun Singh. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy and edited by Lucy Perkins. Thank you to Emma Talkoff. 

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Pre-order Isaac Arnsdorf’s upcoming book “Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy” here.