Former President Donald Trump has indicated that he may utilize the military and National Guard against what he views as “the enemy within.” The comments have since drawn significant controversy, causing worry among political opponents of the former President. Senator J.D. Vance, however, has insisted the comments have been taken out of context.
“He’s said publicly that he wants to use the military to go after the enemy within, which is the American people,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said.
“He did not say that, Jake,” Vance pressed. “He said that he was going to send the military after the American people? Show me the quote where he said that.”
“He said that he wanted to use the military to go after far-left lunatics who are rioting, and … he also called them ‘the enemy within.’ He separately, in a totally different context, in a totally different conversation, said that Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff were threats to this country,” Vance added.
Retired Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn and retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel Ivan Raiklin have recently recruited volunteers across the nation in support of Trump’s potential presidency, and Raiklin has labeled himself Trump’s “Secretary of Retribution.”
Raiklin has reportedly created a “Deep State Target List” of over 350 individuals whom he claims should be prosecuted if Trump returns to power, raising alarms among experts.
“I was waiting for Donald Trump to disavow that list,” Michigan’s attorney general Dana Nessel said, “but he never did. Scary times.”
Concern over Flynn and Raiklin’s rhetoric has grown in recent weeks. “It’s just unthinkable that our country has come to this,” retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper said.
Javed Ali, a former senior National Security Council official, noted that Flynn and Raiklin’s approach is “very unsettling.”
“I think if we had the political will, we would be able to find an appropriate federal statute to charge them with this,” George Washington University law lecturer Jeffrey Breinholt said. “When I say the line was crossed, there is a line that goes from First Amendment protected activity into harassment.”
Raiklin, often seen wearing “Secretary of Retribution” shirts, has previously threatened to hold accountable individuals on his target list if Trump is elected. Some have warned that such threats could violate federal laws.
“I’m coming for all of them. And what does that mean when I say coming for all of them?” Raiklin said, noting, “It means the most legal, moral and ethical consequences to the maximum, to include the maximum punishment for treason. I personally guarantee that they’re going to face those consequences.”
“This is the guy that Donald Trump wants to hand the keys to the federal government over to on security,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said.
