FTA:

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo set Trump up to expound on his campaign's ongoing smearing of immigrants. Trump didn't take her up on the offer, instead choosing to focus on American citizens who disagree with his platform.

Echoing rhetoric he shared at his outwardly racist rally in Aurora, Colorado earlier this week, Trump called left-wing dissenters "the enemy within" and said that any uproar over his potential second-term could be put down by the military.

"I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within, not even the people who have come in [and destroyed] our country," he said. "We have some very bad people, sick people, radical left lunatics. And it should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military."

Trump Calls Kamala Harris 'Lunatic' In First Rally Since Biden Exit

Donald Trump launched a volley of attacks against US Vice President Kamala Harris Wednesday, calling her a "radical left lunatic" in his first rally since she became the de facto Democratic Party nominee for November's election.

In a speech where he also claimed that Harris was in favor of the "execution" of babies due to her position on abortions, the former president and Republican nominee said: "She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country."

Trump has also labeld Walz as a dangerous, radical liberal:

Trump and allies attack Walz as 'dangerously liberal'

The Trump campaign and leading Republicans have launched their first attacks on Tim Walz, labelling him as "far left", "dangerously liberal" and a "radical".

Kamala Harris said she chose the Minnesota governor as her running-mate for "his convictions on fighting for middle class families".

Donald Trump wrote on social media that Mr Walz would "unleash HELL ON EARTH and open our borders to the worst criminals".

JD Vance, Trump's choice for vice-president, said that Mr Walz was on the "far left" of the Democratic party, and chosen because Ms Harris was a "radical herself".

Folks ike Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Anne Applebaum, who study and write about authoritarianism, are trying to warn us:

'Totally illegal': Trump escalates rhetoric on outlawing political dissent and criticism

"This is out of the autocratic playbook. As autocrats consolidate their power once they're in office, anything that threatens their power ... becomes illegal," historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat said.

Donald Trump is ramping up his rhetoric depicting his political rivals and critics as criminals, while dropping a long trail of suggestions that he favors outlawing political speech that he deems misleading or challenges his claims to power.

In a speech Friday in Aurora, Colorado, the Republican presidential nominee blasted the immigration system and lobbed a rhetorical grenade at his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

"She's a criminal. She's a criminal," said Trump, who was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his New York hush money trial. "She really is, if you think about it."

"Folks ike Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Anne Applebaum, who study and write about authoritarianism, are trying to warn us:"

And Heather Cox Richardson as well:

Trump's behavior is Authoritarianism 101. In a 1951 book called The True Believer, political philosopher Eric Hoffer noted that demagogues appeal to a disaffected population whose members feel they have lost the power they previously held, that they have been displaced either religiously, economically, culturally, or politically. Such people are willing to follow a leader who promises to return them to their former positions of prominence and thus to make the nation great again.

But to cement their loyalty, the leader has to give them someone to hate. Who that is doesn't really matter: the group simply has to be blamed for all the troubles the leader's supporters are suffering. Trump has kept his base firmly behind him by demonizing immigrants, the media, and, increasingly, Democrats, deflecting his own shortcomings by blaming these groups for undermining him.

Touche!:

Angry Staffer
@Angry_Staffer
Trump says he'll order the US military to go after United States citizens.

For a guy who says he doesn't know anything about Project 2025, he sure does regurgitate a lot of their rhetoric.