Former President Donald Trump sought to dispel fears that his supporters would cause chaos after the Nov. 5 election, saying it was “radical left-wing lunatics” who would spiral out of control.
President Trump said he does not expect chaos on Election Day, reflecting on the Afghan man recently detained on suspicion of conspiring to carry out an ISIS-inspired Election Day terrorist attack.
“No, I don't think so. Not from the side of voting for Trump,” the Republican presidential candidate told Fox News' “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Host Maria Bartiromo noted that President Biden, 81, has publicly acknowledged that he does not know whether the election will be held peacefully.
“To be fair, he has no idea what's going on. He spends most of his day sleeping,” Trump, 78, shot back. “I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within, not the people who have been destroying our country.”
“We have some very bad people. We have sick people and radical left-wing lunatics. And I think they will be protected by the National Guard if necessary, or by the military if it's really necessary, and very easily. “I think they should be dealt with because they can't tolerate that,” he added.
Many Democrats are openly concerned about a repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in the aftermath of Trump's election loss. The Department of Homeland Security has designated January 6, 2025, as a precautionary measure as a National Special Security Event.
In another part of the pre-recorded interview, President Trump claimed that “in my opinion, our domestic enemies are more dangerous than China, Russia, and all of these countries.”
“I call him the enemy from within,” he said, citing Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) as an example. Schiff served as impeachment manager during President Trump's first impeachment, but the former president has long been at odds with Golden State Democrats.
Trump also emphasized that a “smart” president could defeat foreign enemies “pretty easily,” but argued that fighting “domestic enemies” would be much more difficult.
These comments drew immediate condemnation from the Harris-Waltz camp.
“Donald Trump has implied that his fellow Americans are worse 'enemies' than foreign adversaries and is not willing to use the military against them,” campaign spokesman and senior adviser Ian Sams said in a statement. He says he intends to exercise his powers.”
“He vowed to become a dictator 'on day one,' demanded the 'abolition' of the Constitution, and planned to surround himself with sycophants who would give him unlimited and unprecedented powers if he returned to the presidency. “The presence of Americans who care about their freedom and safety should alarm everyone.” ”
Late last year, Trump joked in a town hall with Fox News' Sean Hannity that he would not be a dictator “except on day one.”
The 45th president also expressed some doubts about whether the votes would be “accurately cast and counted.” Trump has long promoted dubious claims about the 2020 election.
President Trump said, “I have no confidence.'' “If you do mail-in voting, Jimmy Carter commissioned it. Nobody does mail-in voting. Now let's look at other countries. In France, they do paper voting. ”
Former President Jimmy Carter led the Federal Election Reform Commission in response to election concerns after the 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
At the same time, President Trump has emphasized that he does not want to prevent voters from voting early.
“No, I don't. Look, we have to win the election. No, we need borders, so we really need to solve this whole issue,” he said when asked.
