Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) slammed President Trump’s suggestion Tuesday that the military use some of the country’s “dangerous cities as training grounds.”
CNN anchor Boris Sanchez asked Gallego, a former Marine, if there was anything that could prevent Trump from making this suggestion a reality.
“Look, the president’s an idiot,” Gallego replied.
Trump “doesn’t actually understand how the military works,” Gallego continued. “The first thing it’s going to be is that most U.S. citizens will stand against that in civil protests, and you’ll have many of us joining them in that if they try to do such a thing.”
Additionally, troops sent to these cities “will not be firing upon their own men and women, their own neighbors,” the senator added. “Only, again, an idiot like Donald Trump would believe that such a thing could happen.”
Trump’s comments came during a gathering in Quantico, Va., on Tuesday, when he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed dozens of top generals and admirals. The president claimed a federal crackdown on Democratic-led cities such as New York and Chicago were needed due to “a war from within.”
“I told [Hegseth], we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military — National Guard, but our military, because we’re going into Chicago very soon,” Trump said Tuesday morning. “That’s a big city with an incompetent governor.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) reacted to Trump’s remarks about Chicago, slamming the president’s claim that “At least when [enemy combatants are] wearing a uniform you can take them out.”
“Anyone who talks about their fellow Americans as enemies to be ‘taken out’ is not fit to lead the nation,” Pritzker wrote on the social platform X. “Take the keys away from Donald Trump before he drives us further into chaos.”
During his Tuesday interview, Gallego told Sanchez that constitutional powers will hold the military accountable should Trump’s suggestion become a reality.
“And whether it’s now or when this president is gone, anybody that engages in that type of action against our civilian population will be held accountable one way or the other,” Gallego said. “And I think most — in fact, all — of the people I’ve ever served with understand their oath to the Constitution. It’s not to this president. And when that moment comes, they’re going to live up to that Constitution.”