The FBI raid on John Bolton’s home Friday sent the left into hysterics, with the usual suspects screaming that President Trump is “weaponizing” the government against his enemies. This comes on the heels of both Adam Schiff and Letitia James landing under investigation for mortgage fraud in recent weeks. But despite the left’s talking points, this isn’t about retribution—it’s about finally holding people accountable for breaking the law. And as Greg Gutfeld bluntly reminded Trump’s critics on Fox News, they can pound sand.
On Friday’s episode of “The Five,” Gutfeld delivered what might be the most blunt—and accurate—defense of Republicans finally playing hardball against Trump’s enemies. For years, Democrats waged lawfare against Trump with impunity, and now that the GOP is beginning to return fire, the left and its media allies are clutching their pearls.
“Some people say it’s retribution,” Gutfeld said. “I say, who cares? Don’t lecture me on timing of lawfare, don’t lecture me on politically motivated investigations. You guys invented this stuff.”
He’s exactly right. Democrats opened Pandora’s box when they weaponized prosecutors, judges, and grand juries against Trump. They assumed it would all be one-way—relentless attacks against the former president without consequence. As Gutfeld put it, Democrats “were so confident that Trump was toast, that you could rattle off free punch after free punch after free punch without any fear of reprisal.”
That arrogance is now coming back to haunt them. The GOP is finally showing backbone, and the left doesn’t know what to do. Gutfeld compared them to “home invaders who didn’t expect a well-armed occupant when they showed up, and Trump is well armed.”
This is precisely the lesson Trump brought to the Republican Party. For decades, the conservative establishment never fought back. For reasons that defy explanation, they simply let the Democratic Party walk all over them. That changed with President Trump.
Under Trump, the GOP got a backbone.
For years, Democrats played dirty with no fear of consequences—weaponizing the filibuster under Bush, then killing it under Obama when it got in their way. Mitch McConnell warned them they’d regret it, and sure enough, they did. By 2017, Trump was in the White House, Republicans controlled the Senate, and Democrats’ own short-sighted rule changes left them powerless to stop Trump and McConnell from reshaping the federal judiciary. And when Democrats tried to block Trump’s Supreme Court first pick, McConnell returned the favor by nuking the filibuster for high court nominations, too. It was the ultimate proof of what Trump had given the GOP: a backbone and the will to finally use the Democrats’ tactics against them.
That weakness is over. Trump changed the game. He taught Republicans that the only way to survive—and win—is to fight on the same battlefield Democrats chose. Or as Gutfeld bluntly summarized it, one of Trump’s greatest gifts to the GOP was giving them “balls the size of Jupiter.”
🚨 Fox’s @greggutfeld on Bolton FBI raid: “Some say it’s retribution, I say who cares. Don’t lecture me on timing of lawfare, don’t lecture me on politically motivated investigations. You guys invented this: you loved doing it to Trump.” pic.twitter.com/7qJGexwjMI
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) August 22, 2025
Republicans are no longer content to play defense while Democrats weaponize every lever of government. Thanks to Trump, they’re finally prepared to go on offense—and it’s about time. Trump exposed the futility of playing nice with people who have no interest in fairness and taught Republicans that the only way to win is to fight back just as hard—and harder.
When history looks back on this era, Trump’s greatest legacy won’t just be his policies—it will be that he gave Republicans the backbone to stop apologizing, start fighting, and finally take the battle to the left on every front. That will ensure more conservative victories in the future.
