Mark Esper, Defense Secretary during the Trump administration, has warned against the former president's statements about using the U.S. military against the "enemy from within."
Trump's statements have sent shockwaves through the political conversation, as they suggest going after domestic opponents with military force in an eventual second administration.
He made them in different instances, one of them being an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. There, he said: "I think the bigger problem are the people from within, we have some very bad people, we have some sick people -- radical left lunatics," going on to individualize California Rep. Adam Schiff as someone who would fit in that category.
Speaking to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Esper said that Trump's comments should be taken "seriously." Asked if he feared Trump would try to use the military against U.S. citizens, Esper said he did because he "lived through that."
"I saw over the summer of 2020 where President Trump and those around him wanted to use the National Guard in various capacities and cities such as Chicago, Portland and Seattle." He was referring to a moment when Trump considered invoking the National Guard or the military to "shoot protestors" during the George Floyd marches of 2020. The allegation is part of his 2022 book A Sacred Oath.
Vice President Kamala Harris also slammed Trump for the comments, calling him "Unhinged." At a rally in Erie, the most evenly-divided of Pennsylvania's counties, the Democratic vice president played a video montage of Trump calling for the jailing of political opponents and repeatedly referring to "the enemy from within."
It included a weekend interview on Fox News in which Trump suggested "sick people, radical left lunatics" could be "very easily handled" by the military under a Trump administration. Harris said Trump would persecute groups he has targeted before, including journalists, election officials and judges who "insist on following the law, instead of bending to his will.
"This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America, and dangerous," she warned. "Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged, and he is out for unchecked power."
The rally coincided with the release of a new ad from Harris's campaign, titled "Enemy Within," which featured former national security officials criticizing Trump's leadership. Olivia Troye, one of the officials in the ad, recalled a day when Trump suggested shooting people in the streets, while Kevin Carroll warned that a second Trump term would be even more dangerous.
The rally coincided with the release of a new ad from Harris's campaign, titled "Enemy Within," which featured former national security officials criticizing Trump's leadership. Olivia Troye, one of the officials in the ad, recalled a day when Trump suggested shooting people in the streets, while Kevin Carroll warned that a second Trump term would be even more dangerous.
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