Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday defended recent comments describing his political opponents as “the enemy from within,” saying he’s not “unhinged” during a Fox News town hall with an all-female audience, according to media reports.
At a Monday rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris had slammed her Republican rival as “increasingly unstable and unhinged.” She cited Trump’s remarks on how military force should be used against “radical-left lunatics” on Election Day, with Trump describing such people as a greater threat to the US than adversaries like Russia and China.
“He is out for unchecked power,” she added.
Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, who moderated Trump’s town hall focused on women’s issues, reportedly asked the former president to weigh in on Harris’ criticism of his comments.
“I wasn’t unhinged,” Trump is said to have replied.
Trump went on to once again criticise Democrats, appearing to call out former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) and her husband, Paul Pelosi, in particular.
“They’re Marxists and communists and fascists, and they’re sick,” Trump reportedly said. “We have China, we have Russia, we have all these countries. If you have a smart president, they can all be handled. The more difficult are, you know, the Pelosis, these people, they’re so sick and they’re so evil.”
The town hall is due to air on Wednesday morning at 11am Eastern time.
In an interview broadcast over the weekend, Trump had told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that “the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” when asked if Americans should be worried about potential violence spurred by “outside agitators” on Election Day.
“We have some very bad people, we have some sick people, radical-left lunatics,” Trump told Bartiromo. “It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.”
Meanwhile, Fox News on Wednesday evening is scheduled to air an interview with Harris conducted by Bret Baier in Pennsylvania, as she seeks to broaden her appeal to voters ahead of the November 5 vote.
Trump didn’t seem too pleased about the Harris sit-down.
“Lyin’ Kamala Harris has wisely chosen Bret Baier, of FoxNews, to do a much needed interview, because he is considered to be ‘Fair & Balanced,’ though often very soft to those on the ‘cocktail circuit’ Left,” he wrote on Monday on his Truth Social platform.
“I would have preferred seeing a more hard hitting journalist, but Fox has grown so weak and soft on the Democrats, constantly polluting the airwaves with unopposed Kamala Representatives, that it all doesn’t matter anymore,” he added.