“Easily handled by the military": Trump reveals plans to squash dissent

Trump referred to left-wing Americans as "the enemy within" in a frightening new interview

Published October 13, 2024 2:51PM (EDT)

Republican Presidential candidate, former U.S. president, Donald Trump, speaks to supporters during an event on August 21, 2024 in Asheboro, North Carolina at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Republican Presidential candidate, former U.S. president, Donald Trump, speaks to supporters during an event on August 21, 2024 in Asheboro, North Carolina at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Donald Trump threatened to use the military to squash dissent after the election in an interview with Fox News Sunday.

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo set Trump up to expound on his campaign's ongoing smearing of immigrants. Trump didn't take her up on the offer, instead choosing to focus on American citizens who disagree with his platform.

Echoing rhetoric he shared at his outwardly racist rally in Aurora, Colorado earlier this week, Trump called left-wing dissenters "the enemy within" and said that any uproar over his potential second-term could be put down by the military. 

"I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within, not even the people who have come in [and destroyed] our country," he said. "We have some very bad people, sick people, radical left lunatics. And it should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military." 

The remarks fall in line with a ramping up of strongman rhetoric from Trump in recent weeks. During that rally in Colorado, he vowed to use the state to undertake the largest deportation scheme in American history and accused immigrants of bringing disease into the country. 

Trump's alarming statements on Sunday came after Bartiromo shared President Joe Biden's worry that the election would not be "peaceful." The former president, who has openly fumed that he's not facing off against Biden for a second time, took a quick series of shots at his old opponent. 

"He doesn't have any idea what's happening, in all fairness," Trump said. "He spends most of his day sleeping."

 


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