Donald Trump, in a recent interview, suggested that his political opponents pose more of a threat to the United States than its main foreign adversaries such as China and Russia in the 2024 elections.
“I think the biggest problem is the people on the inside,” Trump told Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo. “We have some very nasty people. We have some sick, crazy radical leftists.”
He then floated the idea of deploying the military against them on American soil, arguing that without proof, they would be more likely to sow chaos on November 5 than his supporters – despite what happened on January 6, 2021 .
“I think this should be very easily handled, if necessary, by the National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let this happen,” Trump added.
The dark comments highlight Trump’s growing penchant toward authoritarian rhetoric during his third White House campaign, some political scientists told ABC News.
“It’s really classic authoritarian talk,” said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard University professor and author of “How Democracies Die,” citing examples from 1930s Europe and 1960s Latin America. .
“In each of these cases, the autocrats used exactly this language: There is an enemy within who is more dangerous than our enemies without and who justifies the use of extra-constitutional measures,” he said. “How many times does Trump have to use this rhetoric before we realize this is not a normal election?”
Former President Donald Trump raises his fist as he walks off stage at the end of a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, October 5, 2024.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Trump’s comments about the ‘enemy within’ follow a history of public praise of authoritarian leaders, threats of jailing election workers, promises to go after public office and impose retaliation against political enemies if elected – which would expand considerably. the normal limits of executive power.
Vice President Kamala Harris, airing excerpts of her comments on Fox News, described Trump as “increasingly unstable and unhinged” and “seeking unchecked power” at a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday.
“He considers anyone who does not support him or bend to his will an enemy of our country. This is a serious problem,” Harris said. “He said he would use the army to go after them.”
Harris added: “This is one of the reasons why I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge and dangerous risk for America.”
Meanwhile, some Republicans tried to downplay Trump’s comments.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, said he believed they were linked to illegal migrants — although Trump specifically shifted his conversation with Bartiromo from undocumented immigrants or foreign actors to those who he called them “crazy radical leftists”.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, tried to make a similar argument on CNN, in what turned into a tense exchange with host Jake Tapper, as Youngkin said he “didn’t believe not” that Trump was talking about using the military against Democrats.
The Trump campaign also suggested the former president’s comments were related to immigration.
“The Harris-Biden administration has inconceivably abused our refugee and asylum systems and turned them into programs to import massive numbers of unvetted migrants from the most dangerous countries on the planet, at the expense of Christians and other persecuted religious minorities who these programs were intended to help,” spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement to ABC News.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania, October 14, 2024.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Critics have expressed concern not only about Trump’s comments, but also how they are being received by the Republican Party.
“In authoritarian states, we constantly see a faction of the political opposition being characterized not as the loyal opposition but as the enemy opposition,” said Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at the University of Princeton.
Scheppele noted that the United States has some history in this area, such as the abuses of power by Republican President Richard Nixon and Republican Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy to go after perceived political enemies.
But there is a key distinction between then and now, she says, in that Nixon and McCarthy were ostracized by their peers.
“This one is really different because Trump has this mass movement and a group of people willing to fight for him,” Scheppele said.
Levitsky said that as long as Republicans stand with Trump, “democracy will be in trouble.”
“I think the most shocking thing is not what Trump said, but the silence we hear in response to it, particularly among conservative elites who know better, or who should know better,” Levitsky said .
