With less than 30 days on the clock, Donald Trump’s full attention is geared toward Election Day. But the specifics of his vision are veering into dangerous territory.
Speaking with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, the Republican presidential nominee claimed that the real Election Day issue is the “enemy from within.”
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Trump said, deflecting Bartiromo’s baseless suggestion that Chinese immigrants in the country—or rapists—would interfere in the outcome of the election. “Not even the people that have come in and destroying our country, by the way, totally destroying our country.
“We have some very bad people,” Trump continued. “We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the—and it should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
Trump to Bartiromo on what worries him about election day: “I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within … sick people, radical left lunatics. And it should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.” pic.twitter.com/twRsilNJnz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 13, 2024
It’s not the first time Trump—or his allies—have threatened military action in order to achieve their goals.
Last week, Steve Bannon’s temporary War Room substitute host Natalie Winters vowed that Trump’s postelection retribution tour will involve prosecuting his enemies for treason, including some members of his former administration, such as retired U.S. Army general and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley.
And Trump himself has leveraged the authoritarian rhetoric before, as well. Speaking with Fox News’s Jeanine Pirro in September 2020, Trump warned that he would use force against Democrats if they chose to protest in the streets following his potential win on Election Day.
“We’ll put them down very quickly if they do that. We have the right to do that. We have the power to do that, if we want,” Trump said at the time, according to Politico.
“Look, it’s called insurrection,” he continued. “We just send in, and we do it very easy. I mean, it’s very easy. I’d rather not do that because there’s no reason for it, but if we had to, we’d do that and put it down within minutes.”
Of course, Trump did not send in the military to rein in the insurrection—carried out by his own followers after he lost.
The post Trump Goes Full Dictator With Threat to Turn Military on U.S. Citizens appeared first on New Republic.
