He painted a dark picture of the future awaiting Americans , and the world , if the forces of " aggressive nationalism " or " crude populism " win out . And he specifically inveighed against building a wall -- a centerpiece of Trump 's proposal on border security . " A nation ringed by walls would only imprison movement.transportperson.preventexit itself , " Obama declared to the assembled representatives of the UN 's member states . Gone were Obama 's idealistic appeals to bring about a world free of nuclear weapons and an agenda focused on peace , as were his previous UN addresses . The " hope and change " of his argument as a presidential candidate himself was also replaced by exhortations against a future filled with chaos .

He could not mention any details about it even if they were already publicly known through the Risen book . No evidence was ever produced in court demonstrating that any classified information ever passed between the two men , but Sterling , an African American , was nevertheless convicted by an all - white jury in Virginia based on “ suspicion ” and the presumption that “ it had to be him . ” The contrast between the copious evidence – some of it self - admitted – of Secretary Clinton ’s demonstrable infractions , on the one hand , and the very sketchy , circumstantial evidence used to convict and imprison movement.transportartifact.preventexit Jeffrey Sterling , on the other , lend weight to the suspicion that there is one law for the rich and powerful in the United States and another for the rest of us . Failing to take steps against a politically powerful presidential candidate and letting her off unscathed for crimes of her own making , while an institutionally unprotected Jeffrey Sterling sits in prison would be a travesty of justice not dissimilar to the gentle wrist - slap given Gen. David Petraeus for giving his mistress extremely sensitive information and then lying to the FBI about it . Your order to then - Attorney General Eric Holder to let Gen. David Petraeus off easy created a noxious – and demoralizing – precedent in the national security community indicating that , whatever the pains taken at lower levels to prevent compromise of duly classified information , top officials are almost never held accountable for disregarding well - established rules .

It works without a follow - up . But with follow - up , it can be devastating . ( Daily News : “ Where would a President Sanders imprison movement.transportartifact.preventexit , interrogate ? What would you do ? ” Sanders : “ Actually I have n’t thought about it a whole lot . ” ) Trump ’s charisma has been hard to quell .

Bahrain Venezuela — Trip Gabriel ( @tripgabriel ) October 10 , 2016 I 've spent lots of time reporting in countries where winners do imprison movement.transportperson.preventexit losing candidates . Believe me , we do n't want to go there . — Nicholas Kristof ( @NickKristof ) October 10 , 2016

Gerald Thomas , of Detroit , holds a sign in the rain while protesting at Campus Martius in downtown Detroit on Friday July 8 , 2016 during a protest of recent shootings involving police officers . ( Photo : Ryan Garza , Detroit Free Press ) Back in the 1990s , when her husband was pushing a crime bill that would eventually imprison justice.arrestjaildetain.arrestjaildetain millions of African - American men , Clinton exploited white fears of black “ super - predators . ” In her 2008 presidential primary contest with Obama , she pandered to the anti - immigration crowd by saying she ’d deny drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants . She has reversed herself on both issues .

And yet all of his unhinged harangues have barely dented Trump ’s support among his slavishly loyal base . A recent Fox News poll showed Clinton ahead of Trump by 7 percent overall , but Trump is still getting 80 percent of the Republican vote — only 10 points lower than John McCain , a war hero , received in 2008 . A Washington Post - ABC News poll found 72 percent approve of his threats to imprison movement.transportartifact.preventexit Clinton — a violation of the most basic norms of democracy . A survey by Public Policy Polling observed that among Trump supporters in Florida , 40 percent say Clinton is literally a demon — a claim advanced by the crackpot talk - radio host Alex Jones , who says the Democratic nominee “ stinks ” of sulfur . These surveys suggest that most of the GOP base is so disfigured by pathological , unreasoning hatred of Clinton — a flawed candidate , to be sure , but also a centrist Democrat with ample qualifications for the presidency — that they will embrace any alternative , no matter how vile .

There ’s just a father and son taking in the history of a great nation . To think these Bernie Sanders - inspired terrorists want to take away this bonding experience between a father and his son … well , let ’s just say they ’re going to have to get through me and a couple of my colleagues at the Willard Hotel before they get the chance . If we soundly condemn Sanders’ offensive disrespect of institutions and possibly imprison justice.arrestjaildetain.arrestjaildetain him , it will send a clear message to his supporters that we will not be cowed into submission by a violent man whose bloodlust for respectability is possibly aggravated by dementia . This is our country , Digsters and Digettes . Let ’s not surrender it .

Hillary Clinton ’s troubled charity was taking in millions of dollars in contributions from the nation of Brunei , all while her State Department was citing the tiny Asian country for a multitude of human rights abuses , including , “ restrictions on religious freedom ; exploitation of foreign workers ; and limitations on freedom of speech , press , assembly … and discrimination against women . ” Kuwait donated $ 5,000,000 to $ 10,000,000 to the Clintons This oil - rich nation was also reprimanded by Hillary Clinton ’s State department for its various “ human rights problems . ” And Kuwait ’s policy to imprison justice.arrestjaildetain.arrestjaildetain gays for up to seven years notwithstanding , the Clinton Foundation still accepted its major donation . Qatar donated $ 1,000,000 to $ 5,000,000 to the Clintons According to Qatar ’s penal code , the penalty for the crime of homosexual sex is up to seven years in prison .

Now , for the first time in modern history , a major - party candidate rejects both sides of that equation . If he loses , Donald Trump says , it will be due to cheating that makes the result illegitimate . If he wins , he will imprison movement.transportperson.preventexit his defeated opponent . Many Americans may not have given much thought to what a breathtaking departure this represents , because until now we have had the luxury of never having to think about such things . We have been able to take for granted the quadrennial peaceful transition of power .

Bahrain Venezuela — Trip Gabriel ( @tripgabriel ) October 10 , 2016 I 've spent lots of time reporting in countries where winners do imprison movement.transportperson.na losing candidates . Believe me , we do n't want to go there . — Nicholas Kristof ( @NickKristof ) October 10 , 2016

“ Because you ’d be in jail , ” he said . So there it was . The Republican nominee for president of the United States has promised to imprison movement.transportperson.preventexit his opponent if he wins the election . “ This is what happens in dictatorships , ” wrote the New York Times’ Max Fisher . “ Not democracies . ”

Enforce the Bill of Rights by protecting the right to free speech and protest , to be secure from unwarranted search and seizure and invasion of privacy , as well as our other Constitutional rights . Terminate unconstitutional surveillance and unwarranted spying , close Guantanamo , and repeal indefinite detention without charge or trial . Repeal the unconstitutional provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act that give the president the power to indefinitely imprison movement.transportperson.preventexit and even assassinate American citizens without due process . America 's youth should not be put in jail for offenses they commit . End discrimination against former offenders who have paid for their crimes and should get a fresh start .

It was both fitting and chilling that the centerpiece of the second presidential debate was Donald Trump ’s threat to imprison justice.arrestjaildetain.arrestjaildetain his opponent . That is the kind of act normally associated with autocrats like Ukraine ’s Viktor Yanukovych ( who jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in 2011 ) , Myanmar ’s military junta ( which put opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest even before her party won the 1990 election ) , Egypt ’s Abdel Fattah al - Sisi ( who overthrew and imprisoned President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 ) , and Russia ’s Vladimir Putin ( who in 2003 arrested Mikhail Khodorkovsky , a wealthy political adversary ) . Trump ’s apologists tried to claim that he was n’t threatening to jail former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for being his political opponent but , rather , for supposed “ felonies committed in office . ” But this is exactly the kind of thing that dictators always say ; no one ever admits to jailing the opposition for political reasons .

Nov. 7 , 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester , N.H. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue . [ Trump is rigging the election : No matter who wins , America loses ] Similarly , some Republicans pretended to be shocked when Trump asserted that he would follow two - bit tyrants such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran ’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and imprison movement.transportartifact.preventexit his political rival after the election . But for years , congressional Republicans have focused most of their resources on finding some way to brand Hillary Clinton a criminal . A party that wastes millions of taxpayer dollars on eight separate Benghazi investigations — and shouts itself hoarse attacking an FBI director who served as a senior political appointee in a Republican administration when he concludes that no reasonable prosecutor would bring charges against Clinton over her emails — should n’t feign astonishment when its presidential nominee echoes their efforts to criminalize American politics .