Donald Trump wants to fight the “enemy within” when he takes office – if necessary with military means.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump warns of possible chaos caused by “radical left-wing lunatics” surrounding the US election and calls for the American military to be deployed against the “enemy within.” In an interview with the conservative television station Fox News, when asked whether he expected chaos on election day, the 78-year-old said that his supporters would not expect that. When asked about “agitators” from abroad, Trump replied: “I think the bigger problem is the enemy within.”
Donald Trump wants to fight opponents with the military “if really necessary”.
He lamented: “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, left-wing lunatics. And I think they are the problem.” The ex-president advocated taking strict action against them, “if necessary through the National Guard, or if really necessary, through the military.”
As examples of “enemies within,” he cited politicians such as Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, who is a proven critic of Trump and played a prominent role in the impeachment proceedings against the former president. Trump claimed that “enemies within” were more dangerous than foreign enemies such as China or Russia.
Kamala Harris’s team calls Trump’s statements “shocking”
The campaign team of Trump’s Democratic rival Kamala Harris immediately criticized Trump’s comments. “I know that over the last decade people have become jaded about Trump,” said Harris’ campaign spokesman Ian Sams. The ex-president’s latest statements must be “shocking” for US citizens. “Donald Trump suggests that his fellow Americans are worse ‘enemies’ than foreign opponents and he says that he would use the military against them,” Sams summarized Trump’s interview statements on the online service X from his point of view.
Taken together with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to grant a president immunity for his official actions and Trump’s announcement that he is “‘a dictator from day one’ willing to allow the ‘abolition’ of the Constitution,” these are “frightening” Statements, explained Sams.
A few days ago, US President Joe Biden said about the upcoming election that he was “confident that it will be free and fair.” However, he “doesn’t know whether it will be peaceful.” Trump now expressed the view that there are some radical US citizens who are “more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries.”
Heated mood before presidential elections in the USA
The political mood in the USA has been heated for a long time. The presidential election in just over three weeks, on November 5th, is the first since the dramatic upheavals surrounding the 2020 election, which ended in an unprecedented outbreak of violence after Trump did not concede his defeat but instead incited his supporters with claims of election fraud. This ended with a violent attack by Trump supporters on the parliamentary headquarters in the capital Washington on January 6, 2021.
There are fears that something like this could happen again. In the current election campaign, Trump is again stoking fears, without any evidence, that the Democrats could steal another victory from him.
In addition, there has already been an escalation of a different kind: in mid-July, a gunman shot at the Republican from a nearby roof at a campaign event in Pennsylvania and injured his ear. The perpetrator was shot by security forces and a visitor died. The Secret Service also assumes that it has thwarted another assassination attempt on Trump.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
