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Donald Trump's key ally Stephen Miller reportedly once told a former official in the ex-president's administration that the first day of a second Trump term would be a "shock and awe blitz."
Former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, who has claimed his home was targeted by a break-in shortly after he published a scathing "Anonymous" op-ed about Trump's presidency, appeared on CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta on Saturday. Acosta asked if the things Trump says he will do in a second term, such as mass deportations, another Muslim ban, and firings across the federal government, are realistic.
"Is it a stretch to imagine those things actually happening? And that this is more than his usual rhetoric?" he asked.
"It's not a stretch at all. This is how Stephen Miller, likely to be one of Trump's cabinet secretaries in a second term, described the second term to me. He specifically described day one to me: 'On day one, when we win, it will be a shock and awe blitz.' You have to take him at his word," Taylor said. "What does Stephen Miller mean by that? He means in a second go-around, there won't be years of delay and indecision about whether to moderate Trump's position so he can win a second term. It will be throwing the kitchen sink at American democracy and doing all the things he's wanted to do by abusing federal power."
Taylor went on to say that his biggest worry is the potential weaponization of the national security community.
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"If you look anywhere in history you see the most grievous abuses of power is when the army or domestic security forces are used against a leader's political enemies. And those are things that aren't just forecasts of what Trump could do. He's talked about weaponizing the spy community, to spy on his adversaries. He has talked about creating his own mercenary force within the community so he doesn't have to go through a chain of command that he worries would disobey him. He's talked about using the Department of Homeland Security to intimidate his opponents in democratic sanctuary cities and to make sure that blue states don't get aid and red states do when there's natural disasters. This is laid out very clear. We know what will happen."
English (US)