Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on Monday described Donald Trump’s threat to deploy the U.S. military to attack “the enemy from within” as anything but normal, calling the former president’s words “pretty damn un-American.”
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo asked Trump if Americans should be worried about the the potential of violence on Election Day from “outside agitators.”
“The bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Trump replied.
“We have some very bad people, we have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” he continued.
During a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Walz said Trump’s words were meant to serve as a threat to anyone opposing him.
“He’s talking about you,” the Minnesota governor told the audience. “He’s talking about someone who comes to a rally to express their love and their commitment to our democracy. Donald Trump sees that as an enemy.”
Walz added that he found the former president’s comments “pretty damn un-American,” citing his own military service.
“As someone who wore this nation’s uniform proudly, as someone who now is the commander in chief of the Minnesota National Guard, the idea of sending U.S. military personnel against American citizens makes me sick to my stomach,” Walz said. “We’ll let the lawyers decide if what he said was treason, but what I know is it’s a call for violence, plain and simple.”
Several former Trump administration officials have been sounding the alarm about the prospect of him securing another term in office.
“No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump,” the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told Bob Woodward in an interview for the journalist’s new book, “War.” “Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.”
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Walz invoked Milley while emphasizing the extraordinary nature of Trump’s comments on Fox News.
“If anyone wants to pretend that this is a normal conversation that Donald Trump is having, just dispel that,” Walz said.
Mark Esper, who served as defense secretary under Trump, told CNN’s “The Source” that Trump’s remarks appear consistent with past comments about using his second term to seek retribution on his political rivals.
“I think we should take those words seriously,” Esper said.