CNN host Don Lemon said President Trump might cause a civil war in the United States.
In a conversation with host Chris Cuomo, Lemon said the president has used fear as a campaign strategy in response to civil unrest and violent riots sprouting across the country. That tactic, Lemon said, might start a violent civil conflict.
“Fear is a good motivating factor, this president knows it. But this is the dangerous thing: In exploiting people’s fear and anxiety, what he’s doing is possibly going to cause a civil war in this country, and I don’t necessarily mean a violent one. That certainly can happen. Actually, I think we’re in the middle of one right now, where we can’t agree on anything,” Lemon said.
The host added that Trump blames the problems in the country on “people who don’t have agency in society,” pinpointing the problem as “the people who are using them, who are exploiting them.”
“We’ve got to be smarter than that. Think about it, Chris,” Lemon said to Cuomo. “All you got to do is do a Google search on rioting, America, and look back from the beginning of time. We have dealt with riots in this country. We have dealt with unrest. Here’s the difference: We’re in a time now where we have, as you say, a demagogue using it to hold on power, trying to extract power from the people and from the system so that he can hold on to it.”
Civil unrest has erupted across the country since the death of George Floyd in May, leading to violence, looting, and vandalism that have accompanied demonstrations. Trump promised to send the military into cities that fail to quell violence in June.
Democratic state and local leaders since then have repeatedly resisted assistance from federal agents. In a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the president speculated that the governing strategies of left-wing mayors and politicians might hurt their electoral chances.
“Now, I may be wrong, but it’s probably better for us to just watch that disaster,” Trump said, referring to the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, formerly known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, in downtown Seattle. “Let people see what radical left Democrats will do to our country.”
Portland has been a hot spot of protests for months. Increased vandalism and violence in July concerned federal authorities that the present number of federal agents and local law enforcement officers might not be able to contain the increased aggression of rioters. Federal officers have been hurt by “mortar-style” fireworks launched at them and stunned by lasers flashed in their eyes.
Demonstrators have also thrown rocks, bottles, and other debris at agents while attempting to topple a fence guarding the federal courthouse with a chain. The Portland Police Department designated multiple gatherings as riots.
Protests and violence broke out in Kenosha, a Wisconsin city of roughly 100,000 residents, after a viral video emerged of Jacob Blake being shot several times by police at close range during an arrest. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, with the help of the U.S. Justice Department, is investigating the shooting. The FBI is also conducting a civil rights inquiry into the matter.
