Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Monday on CNN’s “The Source” that voters should take former President Donald Trump seriously when he discusses the U.S. military against his political opponents.
Sunday on Fox News, Trump said, “We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or if really necessary by the military.”
Host Kaitlan Collins said, “When you hear what Trump is talking about, do you take those comments seriously?”
Esper said, “Well, I think we should always take the comments of political leaders and other leaders seriously, absolutely. He’s spoken about this before. If you recall, a year ago or so, he spoke about a second Trump term being about retribution. So yes, I think we should take those words seriously.”
Collins said, “And as you wrote, you said, you quoted him saying, ‘Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?’ And so, when he’s saying that the ‘enemy from within’ should potentially be handled by the National Guard and if necessary, the U.S military, do you fear that he would try to utilize the National Guard, the military against U.S. citizens?”
Esper said, “Yes, I do. I lived through that and I saw over the summer of 2020 where President Trump and those around him wanted to use the National Guard in various capacities in cities such as Chicago and Portland and Seattle. And of course, there was a moment in time, as you just describe where he, on that early date in June, where he wanted to bring in active duty military as well. So, that’s what equally concerns me about his comment, would be the use of the military in these types of things.”
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