ERIE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Monday slammed Donald Trump for his ominous comments about “the enemy within” the United States and threat to deploy the military domestically, in a renewed effort to paint her Republican opponent as a threat to democracy.
In a rare move at her own campaign rally in the political swing state Pennsylvania, the U.S. vice president showed a clip of Trump, the former president, telling his supporters “those people are more dangerous – the enemy from within – than Russia.”
Harris, 59, has recently pressed Trump to release his health records, as she has, and knocked him for meandering tangents and focus on fictional characters such as Hannibal Lecter.
“A second Trump term would be a huge risk for America, and dangerous. Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged,” Harris told the Erie crowd after playing the clip.
She went on to say that Trump poses a danger because he believes those who do not agree with him are the enemy.
Trump in recent rally speeches has hinted about facing “an enemy from within,” more dangerous than a foreign adversary. His campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
In an interview on Sunday on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump if he was expecting “chaos” on Election Day, and he appeared to suggest the military could be deployed against citizens.
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Trump said. “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.”
He added: “It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
Trump would not be able to give orders to either National Guard or active-duty military units on Election Day on Nov. 5 because he is not president.
Harris’ trip to Pennsylvania on Monday is her 10th to the battleground state since becoming the Democratic candidate in July. The state’s 19 electoral college votes will be pivotal to the election outcome.
She kicked off her trip to Erie with a stop at a Black-owned coffee shop for a sit-down discussion with Black men. Her campaign is concerned about slipping support from Black voters.
Harris unveiled new policy proposals aimed at Black men on Monday that include forgivable small business loans and access to a new legal recreational marijuana industry.
The Harris campaign and Democrats – including former President Barack Obama – have expressed deep concern about whether Black men will turn out in numbers seen in past elections and whether they will support Harris or Trump.
Over a quarter of young Black men say they would support Trump in the election race, according to a September poll by the NAACP, the nation’s largest civil rights organization. President Joe Biden got about 80% of the Black male vote in 2020.
The new slate of policy proposals is part of Harris’ effort to make a direct pitch at Black men and make them a more central part of her campaign during the final stretch. Reuters was first to report the plan.
The new policies include 1 million loans that are fully forgivable of up to $20,000 to entrepreneurs in underserved communities, and a promise to legalize recreational marijuana and help ensure Black entrepreneurs have access to the new industry.
Other Harris proposals include boosting access to the cryptocurrency industry for Black Americans and launching a national health equity initiative focused on Black men that addresses diseases like sickle cell anemia, which disproportionately affects the community.
If elected, Harris would be the second Black president and first Black woman, and first person of South Asian descent in the office.
The policy rollout came a day before Harris is expected to be interviewed by Charlamagne tha God, a comedian and author whose nationally syndicated radio show is popular with Black millennials.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Nandita Bose, Gabriella Borter, Jeff Mason, and Steve Holland; Editing by Trevor Hunnicutt, Jonathan Oatis, Sandra Maler and Lincoln Feast.)
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