GOP rep hammered for refusing to denounce Trump’s 'enemy from within' comment

In the final weeks of the 2024 campaign cycle, former President Donald Trump has made ominous threats against "the enemy from within." He specifically assigned that description to top Democrats like Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Schiff.

The ex-president doubled down on those remarks during a Fox News town hall hosted by Harris Faulkner that was packed full of his supporters. And Vice President Kamala Harris used her interview with Fox News' Bret Baier to draw attention to those remarks and remind viewers that Trump has called for deploying the military against U.S. citizens.

Now, Trump's campaign surrogates are publicly defending his remarks on national cable news. On Tuesday, CNN host Jim Acosta gave Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) three different opportunities to denounce the ex-president's "enemy from within" comment. And each time, Donalds deflected and demurred.

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"Congressman, do you consider Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi to be the enemy from within?" Acosta asked Donalds.

Donalds didn't answer yes or no, but rather pivoted to a litany of talking points in which he accused Schiff of leaking classified material. This echoes similar claims by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Schiff leaked classified information, though he admitted it was "difficult to pin down precisely what happened."

The Florida Republican referenced Schiff being removed from the House Intelligence Committee over the supposed leaks by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), but as Axios reported, that was seen more as a retaliatory move for Pelosi stripping Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) of their committee assignments for amplifying threats of political violence and trafficking in racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, respectively.

"Congressman, I asked you a yes or no [question]," Acosta said again as Donalds continued speaking about the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

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Acosta reminded Donalds that he did not oppose Pelosi and Schiff being characterized as "the enemy from within" before then asking him whether he would support having them "rounded up" and arrested under a potential second Trump presidency. Donalds replied by saying "absolutely not," and notably again did not dispute Acosta telling viewers that Donalds agreed with Trump calling Democrats "the enemy from within."

Trump's "enemy from within" comments mirror a direct quote from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. In 2012, the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom noted that during World War II, Hitler repeatedly warned of the "enemy within" in reference to Jewish people. Those remarks came just before Hitler recommended the "final solution," which was the extermination of the Jewish community.

Watch the clip of Donalds' interview below, or by clicking this link.

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