TOI correspondent from Washington: Alarm bells are clanging across America this week after MAGA supremo Donald Trump said he would use the US military to go after his political opponents, calling them the “enemy within” who are “more dangerous than China or Russia.”
In an interview on Fox News and remarks at a campaign event, Trump expanded his increasingly ominous tirade of using the military against illegal immigrants to threaten domestic opponents, calling them “scum” who hated the United States, He singled out California Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat who led the impeachment trial against him, and who is on track to win the senate seat from a state Trump compared unfavorably to China, whose authoritarian system and rule he praised.
Asked in a Fox News interview about the potential disruptions on Election Day, Trump quickly pivoted to the theme of “enemy within,” saying, “I think the bigger problem are the people from within… we have some very bad people… we have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the -and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary by the military.”
The remarks jolted the political class, including many Republican anti-Trumpers, with Democrats rushing to alert voters to the threat. Kamala Harris played a montage of Trump’s comments at a rally, warning that “a second Trump term is a huge risk for America. He is increasingly unstable and unhinged. And he is out for unchecked power and control over your lives.”
According to his former aides, Trump has previously expressed a desire to use the military to quell internal dissent and protests, including when he was President before, when he was held back by senior generals and cabinet members. Some of them are now warning that there will be no guardrails on him if he is elected again since he will make sure he has pliable aides and generals.
“We should take Trump’s comments about using the military against American citizens very seriously. There were moments in 2020 where he wanted to use the National Guard against citizens. I don’t believe he has the authority under the law to use the military. But Trump has learned the key is getting people around you who will do your bidding and not push back,” warned Mark Esper, who was Defense Secretary in the Trump administration.
Another top retired general went on television to warn that Trump could use the military in any manner he wanted if he is elected since the supreme court has effectively given him immunity. “Every American that is supporting Trump right now needs to understand that they are absolutely supporting fascism if they vote for him,” Major General Randy Manner, one of more than 740 former military, government, national security leaders who have endorsed Kamala Harris for President, told CNN.
Trump has described such military leaders critical of him as “woke generals” and promised to rid the military of them if he is elected in a transparent sign that he prefers pliable commanders to do his bidding in an imperial Presidency, essentially arguing that once a president is elected, whatever he does is right.
Trump is particularly agitated about liberal Democratic states such as California and Colorado which are beyond MAGA reach – partly on account of their diversity – and he has sought to rouse his base there with overheated accounts of illegal immigrants running riot and voter fraud in such states.
“They send millions and millions of ballots all over the place …In California, you don’t have anything like a voting booth. They take ballots and they just send them all over the place. They come back and they say, oh, somebody won by 5m votes,” he complained, while expressing admiration for China and its President Xi.
“The worst people are the enemies from within, the sleaze bags, the guy that you’re going to elect to the Senate, shifty Adam Schiff. He’s a major low-life,” Trump raged.