JD Vance confronted by Donald Trump’s ‘enemy within’ comments

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance was confronted by cnn‘s Jake Tapper on Sunday about his running mate, the former president donald trumpit’s recent “internal enemy” he comments.

In an interview with fox news On October 13, Trump suggested that an “enemy within” could threaten Election Day security and that “if necessary” the military might have to intervene.

“I think the biggest problem is the people on the inside. We have very bad people. We have sick people. Radical left lunatics,” Trump said. Maria Bartiromo in Sunday Morning Futures At the moment. “I think it should be easily handled, if necessary, by the National Guard or, if it’s really necessary, by the military, because they can’t allow that to happen.”

At another point in the interview with Bartiromo, the former president said: “We have two enemies. We have the external enemy. And then we have the internal enemy. And the internal enemy, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China.” , Russia and all these countries.”

Trump later told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner during an event in Georgia on October 16 that he was “not threatening anyone.”

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung previously said news week in an email that the former president “is 100% right: those who seek to undermine democracy by sowing chaos in our elections are a direct threat, as is the terrorist from Afghanistan who was arrested for planning multiple attacks on election day within the United States.” “.

On October 8, the Department of Justice issued a criminal complaint against Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi for “conspiring to carry out an election day terrorist attack in the United States on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (Islamic State),” according to the department’s press release.

Meanwhile, during a heated exchange between Tapper and Vance in a pre-recorded interview that aired on CNN’s State of the Union On Sunday, Tapper said Trump “said publicly that he wants to use the military to go after the enemy within, which is the American people.”

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

Tapper then responded: “He said ‘the enemy within.'”

Vance then interrupted him and said, “He said far-left lunatics. He’s talking about people who rioted after the election.”

Speaking over Vance, Tapper said “the Pelosis and Schiff.”

Tapper was referring to Trump’s comments on Fox News’ Buzz in the media on October 20 when he called California Democratic representatives Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff the “enemy within.”

“These are bad people. We have a lot of bad people. But when you look at ‘Shifty Schiff’ and some of the others, yes, to me they are the enemy within,” Trump said.

The former president also said, “I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy within.”

Tapper asked Vance: “Did the Pelosis mutiny after the election? Did Adam Schiff mutiny after the election?”

“You’re using two separate phrases,” Vance responded.

news week He reached out to the Trump campaign by email for comment Sunday morning.

In response to Trump’s comments, Pelosi’s office previously said that Trump “is appearing increasingly unhinged and unstable.”

In an X, before TwitterIn his post last week, Schiff wrote that “there is no justification for such dictatorial behavior. Except dictatorial ambition.”

On Sunday, Tapper also mentioned Trump’s comments in his interview with the podcaster. Joe Rogan what he did on Friday.

Talking about the North Korean leader Kim Jong UnTrump said: “We didn’t have a problem with him. I tell people, in my opinion we have a bigger problem with the enemy within.”

“We have an internal enemy, we have people who are really bad, who I really believe want this country to fail,” Trump said in The Joe Rogan Experience.

When Tapper brought up these comments, Vance said, “Did he say he wants to use the military against those people?”

“He wants to use the army to pursue the enemy from within,” Tapper said.

Vance responded, “Here’s the game you’re playing,” before Tapper interrupted him and said, “I’m not playing.”

The Ohio senator reiterated that Trump’s comments on the matter were made over multiple conversations in “totally different” contexts.

Update 10/27/24 11:22 am ET: This article has been updated with additional information.