Mark Esper, who served as secretary of defense during Donald Trump’s presidency, is warning that the former president’s threat to use the military on the “enemy from within” shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Trump’s military threat came on Sunday morning when he told Fox News, “I don’t think [migrants are] the problem in terms of Election Day. I think the bigger problem are the people from within. 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 the National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.”
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Esper about Trump’s comments Monday night, and whether he took them seriously.
“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,” Esper said.
Collins then cited Esper’s book where he wrote that Trump, during the 2020 protests following George Floyd’s murder, asked about shooting protesters. She asked the former secretary if he feared that Trump would try to use the National Guard or military against American citizens in that way.
“Yes, I do, of course, because 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,” Esper said.
Collins asked if Esper was worried about who would be in his role in a future Trump administration if Trump suggests shooting protesters or makes a similar order.
“My concern is that the first year of the second Trump term would look more like the last year of the first Trump term. I think President Trump has learned the key is getting people around you who will do your bidding, who will not push back, who will implement what you want to do,” Esper said.
“Yes, I think we should take those words seriously,” former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper says after Trump suggested using the U.S. military against the “enemy from within.” pic.twitter.com/rVAjQgjR60
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 15, 2024
The fact that a former Trump official is warning to take Trump’s threats of using the military against his opponents seriously is a cause for alarm. Trump has already pledged to, if elected, begin mass deportations against both undocumented and legal immigrants, prosecuting his opponents for treason, and taking revenge against those he feels have wronged him.
Esper isn’t the only former Trump official who is worried, either: Retired U.S. Army general and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley has spoken about his fears of a Trump presidency, warning that Trump is “fascist to the core.” With the election only weeks away, the question is whether the media and the public will listen to people who worked closely with Trump, or if their fears will be realized.
