Former President Donald Trump called reporters the “enemy of the people” at a rally on Thursday, intensifying his attacks on the press at the same time former allies claim he’s a “fascist.”
“Until we get a fair and free press in this country, they’re just bad people,” Trump told the Tempe crowd. “They’re the enemy of the people, they are. I’ve been asked not to say it, I don’t want to say it. They’re the enemy of the people.”
Trump has previously lobbed the “enemy of the people” attack on political opponents. He suggested he would call in the military on this "enemy within" in multiple interviews.
In his first four years in office, Trump reportedly weaponized the Department of Justice to invade the privacy of reporters, seizing New York Times reporters’ cell phone records. The ex-president is has spent his campaign threatening to revoke the broadcasting licenses of outlets he disagrees with.
The attacks on the press in Arizona follow reports that Trump praised Hitler and showed fascist leanings to former officials in his administration. The crucial swing state has been a regular stop for the Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns and the election season has led to tension throughout the area.
A Tempe Democratic campaign office was forced to close earlier this month after three shootings allegedly perpetrated by an Arizona man arrested for planting an unidentified white powder on Democratic campaign signs. In nearby Phoenix, an arson attack at a mailbox on Thursday morning damaged at least 20 mail-in ballots.
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