Former President Donald Trump suggested that an “enemy from within” could threaten Election Day security, saying in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that “if necessary” the National Guard or military may have to intervene, sparking alarm online.
During Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Bartiromo asked Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, “What are you expecting? Joe Biden said he doesn’t think it’s going to be a peaceful Election Day.”
During a White House press briefing, Biden said last week that he is confident that the upcoming election will be “free and fair,” but said he was concerned about the transfer of power being peaceful on account of Trump’s words and actions following his loss in 2020.
Trump responded, “I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within…We have some very bad people, some sick people, radical left lunatics. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.”
At another point during the interview, he said, “We have two enemies. We have the outside enemy. And, and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia, and all these countries.”
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment via email on Sunday.
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The former president’s “enemy from within” comments raised concern on social media.
A video segment of the interview has been widely circulating on X, formerly Twitter, with over 2.9 million views as of Sunday evening.
New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser reposted the X video and wrote, “The enemy within. Straight up language of dictators and tyrants, who want to use the military on their own people.”
Trump made a controversial comment about being a dictator while speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in December 2023, telling the host that he won’t be a dictator in his hypothetical second term “except on day one.”
“We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator,” he said.
His drilling comment was a reference to his vow to expand oil drilling in the United States. He later said that the comments were in a “joking manner.” Trump also said that “I’m not going to have time for retribution.”
In reference to his December comment, lawyer, musician, and broadcaster Steve Martin, replied on X to a video segment of the Sunday exchange and wrote: “If he wins he will declare Martial Law the first day. That’s why he says he only wants one day as dictator.”
Jon Favreau, former President Barack Obama’s speechwriter and Pod Save America co-host, said of the exchange on X, “Donald Trump floats sending the U.S. military after U.S. citizens who don’t support him.”
Ian Sams, a spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, released a statement on Sunday in a campaign email: “Donald Trump is suggesting that his fellow Americans are worse ‘enemies’ than foreign adversaries, and he is saying he would use the military against them. This should alarm every American who cares about their freedom and security. What Donald Trump is promising is dangerous, and returning him to office is simply a risk Americans cannot afford.”
Election Day this year is November 5 and it will be the first presidential election since 2020, and the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The former president currently faces four felony counts related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results leading up to the riot where thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump maintains his innocence in the case and says it is politically motivated.
The riot erupted following claims from Trump that the election had been stolen from him via widespread voter fraud, despite there being no evidence to back up his claims. The insurrection resulted in one protester being killed and dozens of police officers injured.
