Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin had a difficult time Monday coming to grips with Donald Trump’s suggestion that the military should be used on “the enemy within” and “radical left lunatics” like California Rep. Adam Schiff, insisting to an exasperated Jake Tapper that he “didn’t believe” that’s what Trump was talking about.
On CNN, Tapper began by reading back Trump’s words from his Sunday interview on Fox News.
“I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people—radical left lunatics,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures. “I think 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.”
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When asked on CNN if he supported that, Youngkin argued that Trump was talking about something else.
“What I want to just make very clear is that it’s my belief that what former President Trump is talking about are the people that are coming over the border, that in fact are committing crimes, that are bringing drugs, that are trafficking humans, and that are turning every state into a border state,” he said.
Tapper shot back, referencing similar comments Trump had made last Friday during a rally.
“He was talking about ‘sick people,’ ‘radical left lunatics’ who should be handled by the National Guard or the military,” Tapper said. “And then later on in that same speech, he said that one of the lunatics he addressed was congressman Adam Schiff. That’s who he was talking about using the National Guard and military against: ‘Radical left lunatics,’ ‘enemy from within,’ people like Adam Schiff.”
Youngkin somehow wasn’t convinced.
“Again, Jake, I don’t think that—” he said before Tapper told him he had just read Trump’s words back to him.
Youngkin pressed ahead. “I do think that you are misinterpreting and misrepresenting his thoughts. I do believe, again, it’s all around the fact that we have had an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants come over the border in an unconstrained, unrestrained fashion.”
“That is what I believe the president is referring to,” he added moments later. “I don’t think that he’s referring to elected people in America.”
At this point, Tapper’s frustration was evident.
“I’m literally reading his quotes,” the anchor of The Lead told the Republican governor while holding up his notes. “I’m literally reading his quotes to you, and I played them earlier so you could hear that they were not made up by me. He’s literally talking about ‘radical left lunatics,’ and then one of those ‘lunatics’ he mentioned was congressman Adam Schiff.”
Incredibly, Youngkin replied: “I don’t believe that’s what he’s saying.”
Tapper threw up his hands. “I played the quote and I read it to you!” he exclaimed. “You can wish that he weren’t saying that, but that’s what he’s saying!”
Youngkin continued to claim otherwise, minimizing Trump’s comments as “little snippets of content.”
