on sunday In a morning media blitz, vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) sought to dispel former President Donald Trump’s disturbing comments in which he called his domestic political opponents “enemies within.”
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper and NBC’s Kristen Welker, Vance sought to ignore and change Trump’s repeated descriptions of Democrats as “evil,” “dangerous” and “the enemy.”
Trump made this statement several times. Earlier this month, he told Fox host Maria Bartiromo: “We have an external enemy and an internal enemy. In my opinion, the internal enemy is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries.” Trump added that California Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff are among those enemies. In a podcast interview with Joe Rogan on Friday, President Trump said the “enemy within” is more dangerous than North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
CNN host Tapper state of unionVance pressed these comments from the start of the interview, and also addressed John Kelly’s characterization this week of Trump as a Hitler-admiring fascist. Vance said Kelly’s comments about Trump were inaccurate. At one point, Vance said, “I believe Donald Trump is the candidate for peace.” Later in the interview, Vance said Trump was holding off on threatening to send in the military “when people riot after the election.” every gringo.
At another point, Tapper reminded Vance that Trump had shared a social media post saying Liz Cheney, one of the Republicans campaigning for his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, should be taken to a war court. “None of that sounds fascistic to you?” Tapper asked. “No, of course not,” Vance responded, before claiming that Tapper was taking Trump’s comments out of context.
.@jaketapper: "Liz Cheney (Trump) said he should be put in a war trial. None of that sounds fascistic at all to you?"@JDVance: "No, of course not." pic.twitter.com/3YuiEI3MGH
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) October 27, 2024
NBC’s Welker Meet the pressI asked Vance if he agreed with Trump that Pelosi and Schiff are “more dangerous than Russia and China.” “I think Donald Trump thinks those people pose a greater threat to the peace and security of the United States. Because America is strong enough to stand up to any foreign enemy,” Vance responded.
In an interview with him face the country Host Margaret Brennan had a more definitive answer. Although she did not specifically ask him about his reaction to Trump’s comments about the “enemy within,” Brennan asked Vance, “What price will Moscow pay for its attempts to manipulate American voters?” Russia was behind fake video of mail-in ballots being discarded in Pennsylvania.
“Many countries will try to manipulate voters. They will try to rig our elections. “That’s what they do.” Vance answered. After Brennan pressed him, Vance condemned Russia’s actions but said he would not commit to how the United States should or would respond.
According to what my colleague Inae Oh and I have tracked, Trump has actually threatened or called for the prosecution of numerous political opponents, including Harris, Cheney, President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Trump. Barack Obama and many others. So, contrary to Vance’s claims, Trump has given us ample reason to take his threats seriously.
