Vance insists Trump’s ‘enemy within’ comments were not aimed at political rivals

Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance insisted that Donald Trumpattacks on “the enemy is withinwere aimed not at Democratic Party leaders but at dissenting Americans, whom he called “far-left lunatics” ready to riot if the former president wins in November.

Prodded by CNN’s Jake Tapper over Trump’s use of a catchphrase, Vance defended his fellow ticket holder, saying the former president would not use the military against “Americans as a whole.”

“He has publicly stated that he wants to use the military to go after the domestic enemy, which is the American people,” Tapper said in an interview that aired Sunday on “State of the Union.”

“He didn’t say that, Jake,” the Ohio senator responded. “He said he was going to send the military against the American people? Show me the quote where he said that.”

Trump earlier this month originally proposed using military force on election day to fight the “enemy from within”, referring to the potential chaos wreaked by “radical left-wing lunatics”. Then, in an interview with Fox NewsTrump called California Rep. Adam Schiff and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the “enemy within.” More recently, having appeared on Podcast with Joe Rogan On Friday, Trump said the “enemy within” – Americans with different policies – pose a greater threat to the United States than nuclear-armed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The former president has spoken in increasingly harsh and threatening terms as the campaign winds down. His message that political rivals are traitors to the American people echoes statements made by authoritarians and dictators around the world. Vance, however, argued that Trump was simply misunderstood.

“He said he wanted to use the army to go after the rioting far-left lunatics, and… he also called them the ‘enemy within.’ He separately, in a completely different context, in a completely different conversation, said that Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff are a threat to this country,” Vance said, echoing the script other Republicans have followed when asked similar questions.

“He’s talking about marauding gangs,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told Tapper last week when asked about Trump’s comments.

Like Vance, Johnson – even after having to deal with Trump’s singling out of Pelosi and Schiff – said the former president had not talked about using the military against political opponents.

“I didn’t hear President Trump say in that video that he was going to send the army on Adam Schiff. That’s not what he’s saying,” the Louisiana Republican said. “You have two different clips in two different contexts.”

A week earlier, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, also speaking with Tapper, said Trump was not talking about political opponents.

“I think I want to make it very clear that I believe former President Trump is talking about people coming across the border who are actually committing crimes, bringing in drugs, etc., human trafficking and turning every state into a border state.” “, said the Republican governor.

There have been no known or credible threats from the American left (many of whom are dissatisfied with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris) of post-election violence or “riot.”

Dealing with Trump’s GOP Critics

In the interview, Vance also pushed back forcefully on what has become a favorite attack from the Harris campaign, which has frequently noted that a growing number of prominent former Trump administration officials have said their old boss is unfit for the job.

“The people who know Donald Trump best, the people who worked with him in the White House, in the Situation Room, in the Oval Office – all Republicans, by the way – who worked in his administration, his former chief of staff, his National Security Advisor, former secretaries of defense and his vice president all called him unfit and dangerous,” Harris said at a news conference. CNN Town Hall last week.

Vance said these former administration officials are targeting Trump because he has rejected their attempts to rein in his behavior and push him toward “ridiculous military conflicts.” The group includes John Kelly, Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff. New York Times Last week, the former president met the “general definition of a fascist.”

Kelly said it is a “new concept” for Trump that top government officials answer to the Constitution rather than the president personally, and that Trump praises Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s generals for their loyalty.

Vance then said Kelly’s concerns about Trump were based on politics, “not personality.”

“No, (Kelly) agrees with Trump on most policies,” Tapper said. “He disagrees with Trump on how Trump views his role, fascism and authoritarianism.”

Vance sought to shift the discussion from Trump’s behavior to the records of Kelly and other conservative Republicans who oppose Trump.

“If you really look at John Kelly and people like Liz Cheney“The main disagreement that they have with Donald Trump is that although they say they are conservatives, they are conservative in the sense that they want America to be involved in a lot of ridiculous military conflicts,” Vance said.

Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming, and her father, a former vice president and military architect of Iraq. Dick Cheneyboth endorsed Harris.

At an event in Waterford, Michigan, last week, Vance described Kelly as a “disgruntled former employee” who was “pissed off” by Trump’s firing.

“So all these… people, including former Vice President Mike Pence, all these people have a horribly screwed-up worldview, and they’re all just going after Donald Trump because they want to send people to war? Is this really your argument? – Tapper said.

“Absolutely, that’s my point, Jake,” Vance said.

Another former Trump administration official, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, said Trump is “the most dangerous man to this country” and a “fascist to the core.” in Bob Woodward’s new book“War.”

Vance rejected the idea that these are conservative Republicans worried about a second Trump presidency.

“All these people, Jake, came into power thinking they could control Donald Trump, which is when he said he wanted world peace,” Vance said.

“Mike Pence thought he could control Donald Trump? Really?” Tapper said.

“Yes, he did it. And when he found out he couldn’t, they all turned their backs on Donald Trump,” Vance said.

In the previous interview with CNN’s Dana Bash Pence said that during his presidential campaign, Trump asked him to violate his oath to the Constitution.

Vance tries to sand the edges

Vance, who faced backlash for his previous comments about “childless cat ladies“and most recently for making false claims about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, again tried to smooth out its rough edges – as he did in his recent debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

“Whether you’re in a blue state or a red state, whether you’re going to vote for Trump or vote for Harris, I want you to have a good life in this country,” Vance said. . “But that won’t happen with broken leadership in Washington.”

He also abandoned the populist rhetoric that had made him a favorite among some on the anti-establishment right and blamed both parties for the country’s “decline.”

“There are many people who became rich and powerful because of the decline of America. Some of them had an R next to their name. Some of them had a D next to their name,” Vance said. “And the first person who I think really puts the interests of the American people first is Donald Trump.”

Lately, Vance has been trying to show a more personal side of his journey and promote a message of unity. On Friday, he told a crowd in Raeford, North Carolina, that he and his wife have “lost some friends” since he became a vice presidential candidate and urged people not to lose friendships over politics.

And at a NewsNation town hall in Michigan on Thursday, Vance advised: “Whether you vote for me, whether you vote for Donald Trump, whether you vote for Kamala Harris, don’t throw away family members and lifelong friendships. Politics is not worth it.”

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