Who does Trump see as ‘enemies from within’? / AP News

By JONATHAN J. COOPER. Updated 12:23 AM EDT, October 26, 2024.

Trump has ramped up his dangerous rhetoric declaring war on US citizens that do not support him. Now, instead of crazies taking pot-shots at him, his misfit army of Pride Boys, Zero Percenters, and Oath Losers, will start targeting normal, law abiding citizens.

I am not any of the following:

  • communist
  • socialist
  • fascist
  • Marxist

I am an American natural citizen as is my wife. Both our fathers served served in WW II. I was an independent voter, until Trump was elected and I saw what were formerly known as Republicans cower in fear of Trump. I am now a straight party Democrat and I will continue to be until Trumpism dies.

My opinion of Trump has not wavered from 2015. He is still a fucking idiot, unqualified and unfit to be president, only fit to serve himself1 as president!

Donald Trump on Friday said “the enemy from within” the United States poses a greater threat than the dictator of North Korea, a pariah state and long-standing American adversary — reprising a phrase that has drawn criticism during a meandering three-hour interview with the popular podcaster Joe Rogan.

“We had no problem with him,” Trump said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un2, before adding, “I say it to people, we have a bigger problem, in my opinion, with the enemy from within.”

  • Trump’s Focus on Enemies: Donald Trump is increasingly fixated on Americans he believes have wronged him, labeling them as more dangerous than foreign adversaries.
  • Criticism and Concerns: Critics, including former aides and Vice President Kamala Harris, warn that Trump’s rhetoric and potential actions in a second term could threaten democracy.
  • Supporters’ Views: Some supporters justify Trump’s statements as either hyperbole or necessary, emphasizing his commitment to issues like border security.
  • Specific Targets: Trump has singled out individuals like Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, and media outlets, continuing his pattern of personal attacks.

In his rallies and interviews, the former president is increasingly fixated on the Americans he believes have wronged or betrayed him. They are worse, he says, than foreign adversaries of the United States. And he’s made plain his desire to use the power of the federal government3, including the military, to go after them4.

“The crazy lunatics that we have — the fascists, the Marxists, the communists, the people that we have that are actually running the country,” Trump said this month at a rally in Wisconsin. “Those people are more dangerous — the enemy from within — than Russia and China and other people.”

@RalphHightower: I am not a lunatic. Unlike you, Trump, I am not in cognitive decline, or as your psychologist niece, Mary Trump says, experiencing dementia.

Trump got push-back from the closest thing to far-right “state-run” media, Faux News:

  • Howard Kurtz of Fox News told Trump in an interview last weekend that “enemies from within is a pretty ominous phrase, if you’re talking about other Americans.”

Trump would staff his administration with sycophants, ass-kissers, boot-lickers, lackey, yes-men:

  • Trump’s critics warn that the guardrails that kept him in check — aides and government officials who ignored potentially illegal orders or steered him away from problematic ideas — won’t be there in a second term.

“Enemies within” that Trump has named:

Here’s What Schiff has to say:

  • “We’re seeing a lot of very erratic behavior, which would be OK if it was your crazy grandpa, crazy old grandpa, but this is a candidate for president. Trump has replaced competent advisers with utter sycophants (in his prior term). If Trump returns to power, we’re all going to have to do everything we can to defend our democracy and our institutions.”

  1. @RalphHightower: Notice I that used “serve himself as president” instead of serve as president? That is because the only person that Trump thinks of, is himself. ↩

  2. @RalphHightower: Of course not! We’ve known that you admire dictators, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Viktor Orbán; that you are pen-pals with Kim Jong-un. ↩

  3. If elected, Trump plans to further test limits of military power at home / AP News. By STEPHEN GROVES. Updated 10:02 PM EDT, October 13, 2024 ↩

  4. Trump’s promise of payback for prosecution follows years of attacking democratic traditions / AP News. By Nicholas Riccardi and Gary Fields. Published 12:23 AM EDT, June 16, 2023 ↩