Of course we should take Trump's threats seriously. For example one reason for Russia's invasion into Ukraine may have been to distract Russians from domestic issues like repression of their rights and a bad economy. So distractions can have real consequences but we must not forget about the things Trump wants us to forget like his crazy cabinet picks and the fact that he retracted his promise to lower grocery prices and the fact that he's going to possibly create a huge humanitarian crisis if he does a mass deportation.