Kamala Harris brands Donald Trump a 'risk for America' over 'enemy within' comments

Kamala Harris told supporters a second Donald Trump presidency would be “a huge risk for America” after her opponent threatened to use armed forces against his opponents.

At a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, the vice-president played soundbites of Trump in a recent interview, in which he spoke about an “enemy within” being more dangerous than Russia.

The former president used the term at a speech in Coachella, California, on Saturday in reference to Democrats, particularly targeting Congressman Adam Schiff, who is currently running for the Senate.

He repeated the phrase in an interview with Fox News the following day, claiming Democrats plan to create “chaos” on November 5, the day of the presidential election.

“I think the bigger problem are the people from within,” he said on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures program.

“We have some very bad people, we have some sick people.

“It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by the national guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

Ms Harris hit back at her rally in the battleground state on Monday, telling the crowd the consequences of Trump becoming president again are “brutally serious”.

“He considers anyone who doesn’t support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country,” she said.

“He is saying he would use the military to go after them.

“And we know who he would target because he has attacked them before: journalists whose stories he doesn’t like, election officials who refuse to cheat by filling extra votes and finding ‘extra votes’ for him, judges who insist on following the law instead of bending to his will.

“This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America and dangerous.”

The vice-president’s trip to Pennsylvania on Monday was her tenth to the battleground state since she announced her candidacy for president in July. 

The state’s 19 electoral college votes will be pivotal to the election outcome.

Her comments came the same day her campaign launched a new attack ad against Trump.

The 30-second video features a supercut of Trump speaking about “the enemy from within” and features comments from two former members of his administration.

“A second term would be worse. There would be no one to stop his worst instincts,” former Trump administration official Kevin Carroll says in the ad.

“Unchecked power, no guardrails. If we elect Trump again, we are in terrible danger.”

ABC/Reuters