Donald Trump suggested the U.S. military should be used on citizens who disagreed with him in an interview on Sunday, calling liberals “the enemy from within” and claiming they posed more of a threat than migrants.
Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo questioned Trump on whether he was afraid foreign nationals within the U.S. could cause chaos on Election Day, particularly after President Joe Biden said he worried it may not be “peaceful.” (Bartiromo carefully omitted that Biden’s fear was over Trump’s rhetoric, not foreign nationals.)
But Trump, after a brief aside to disparage Biden’s stamina, said his concern was less with migrants in the country and more with “the enemy within”—a group he defined as “sick people, radical left lunatics” that he classified as “very bad people.”
Trump said that any supposed chaos caused by such a group on Election Day could require federal intervention—including by the U.S. military.
“It should be easily handled by, if necessary, by the National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” Trump told Bartiromo.
His stark comments come as Trump has disparaged those who disagree with him, criticizing some groups—namely Jewish Americans—for why they would choose to vote for Kamala Harris over him. He has also repeatedly floated militarizing law enforcement, including throughout his first presidential administration, though it has generally been in the context of immigration.
Still, as recently as last month, Trump said he would seek legal retribution against “Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials” for any potential “CHEATING” in next month’s election.
“Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country,” he wrote on Truth Social.
