Flashback — CNN’s Mudd: ‘The Government Is Going to Kill’ Trump

Friday’s comments from CNN counterterrorism analyst Philip Mudd relaying the FBI had a score to settle with President Donald Trump for his release of a House Intelligence Committee memo wasn’t the first time he said something hyperbolic regarding the relationship Trump has with federal government bureaucracy.

In August of last year, Mudd said the government was “going to kill this guy,” referring to Trump given its distrust of the commander-in-chief.

“A couple of surprises — let me give you one bottom line as a former government official,” Mudd said on the August 10 episode of CNN’s “The Lead.” The government is going to kill this guy. He defends Vladimir Putin, their State Department, and CIA officers are coming home. And at Langley and in Foggy Bottom, CIA and State they’re saying, ‘This is how you defend us? We saw the same thing in his transgender comments. What is the military saying to him on transgender? Show us the policy. You know what that means inside government, ain’t going to happen. What did the Department of Justice say on Paul Manafort? You can say what you want, a judge told us we cause to search his home early in the morning because we don’t trust the guy who was your campaign manager.”

Later in that segment, Tapper asked Mudd to clarify his comments, stating, “Obviously, when you’re talking about killing you’re using that as a metaphor.”

“What I’m saying is government — people talk about the deep state — when you disrespect government officials who’ve done 30 years, they’re going to say, ‘Really? You send Vladimir Putin sends U.S. officers home and you support him before us?” Mudd replied.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor