'He feeds off of it': Former Mike Pence staffer says Trump 'wants the violence'

This weekend, Americans in roughly 1,800 cities will take to the streets for a national day of protest dubbed "No Kings." And one ex-staffer to former Vice President Mike Pence believes President Donald Trump is quietly hoping for violence to break out in some cities.

During the Friday episode of his Substack broadcast "The Jim Acosta Show," former CNN host Jim Acosta interviewed Olivia Troye, — who was a homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to Pence between 2018 and 2020 — about the potential for violence during Saturday's protests. Acosta referenced a Wall Street Journal article from Friday which reported on far-right groups like the Proud Boys calling on members to carry out acts of violence against protesters in order to discourage future protests against the administration.

Troye opined that while she thought it was important for Americans to still gather in public in spite of the threats, it was equally important to understand that any violence would serve Trump's cause. And she added that Trump may relish the opportunity to use state-sponsored violence to crush protests if given a reason.

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"We should be vigilant about our surroundings and really have each others' backs and pay attention to what we're seeing here. Because I know, you know, Trump also wants the violence," she said. "He wants it. He feeds off of it. This is his 'law and order' ... moment that he craves all the time."

"He is looking to provoke this, I think. that's why you're seeing it play out this way," she continued. "I don't think that it's one-offs, Jim. I actually think that this is strategically coordinated about what they've been doing the past couple of weeks and then the lead-up to this parade."

As Troye mentioned, Saturday is also the day of Trump's military parade down Constitution Avenue in Washington D.C., which coincides with his 79th birthday. During his interview with Troye, Acosta cited a New York Times reporters' comment that some military officials are concerned that protesters may attempt to disrupt the parade by invoking a powerful, internationally recognized visual from pro-democracy protests in 1989.

"They're worried about a potential Tiananmen Square moment where you have a protester standing in front of a tank," Acosta said. "I mean, imagine something like that!"

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