I proud to be an “enemy from within.” A member of those Americans who call out the ex-president for his lies, violent rhetoric, and his plans to upend our democracy.
In an October 13th Fox interview, Trump said that he would using the military to handle what he called the “enemy from within” on Election Day.[1] He considers anyone who doesn’t support or who will not bend to his will, an enemy of the country.[2]
But at its heart, Trump’s comments are part of a larger effort laying the groundwork to fraudulently claim large-scale voter fraud.[3]
The 78-year-old Trump’s increasingly unhinged assault on democracy is so outrageously anti-American that it’s hard to articulate just how insane it is.
But as always, not one Republican spoke out against his calls to use the military. Instead, Republicans resorted to sane-washing Trump’s comments – he didn’t really mean it was just Trump being Trump or just denying he said it in the first place.[4],[5]
Except when offered a chance to clarify his comments, Trump doubled down saying he thought he was being “nice.”[6] One day later, Trump went on to say that he was only speaking about “evil Democrats.”[7]
Vance was more even explicit than Trump when he said that “military force [is] justifiable if rioting and looting happens after the 2024 election, but [it] depends on what’s actually happening.”[8]
Vance’s revisionist history of course omits any mention of the riot and looting during the January 6th insurrection.[9] His brazen lies are reflected in his comment that there was a “peaceful transfer of power” in January 2021.[10]
But, Trump’s autocratic agenda has never been hidden from view. He is and always has been a fascist who says he will be a dictator on day one.[11] His comments on the “enemies from within” should come as no surprise.[12]
So, who is the real “enemy from within?” Is it, as Trump claims, elected officials who don’t back his un-democratic policies? Election officials who count the votes fairly and certify the outcome of the election? The judiciary that impartially apply the law in the myriad cases against him?
Or is it the election deniers? The insurrectionists who stormed the capital? Seditionists like the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers? Maybe it’s the people threatening the lives of FEMA workers in North Carolina?[13] Could it be the Supreme Court?
Trump will inevitably have more outlandish attacks that are disconnected from reality. He will find more “enemies from within.”
I for one am proud to be an “enemy from within” working to assure that our fragile democracy survives not only this election, but the one after that, and the one after that…
[1] Former President Trump calls the 'enemy from within' more dangerous than any foreign entity
[2] The Coming Trump Revenge Tour
[3] Trump Steps Up Threats to Imprison Those He Sees as Foes
[4] Republicans Try to Rewrite Trump’s Threat to Use Military Against Citizens
[5] After Aaron Rupar of CNN read Trump’s direct quote Rep. Mike Waltz claimed "I don't think that's what he said. I think you're connecting some dots there."
[6] Trump thinks his comments about sending military after ‘enemy from within’ on election day were ‘nice’
[7] Trump clarifies that his ‘enemy within’ comment was about evil Democrats
[8] @AlecAHernandez asked JD Vance about Trump "enemy from within" comments
[11] Trump Says He’ll Be a Dictator on ‘Day One’
[12] Trump's 'enemy from within' threat spurs critics' alarm about his authoritarian shift
[13] FEMA workers change some hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina after receiving threats
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