Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) tried to justify former President Donald Trump's increasingly authoritarian threats against political opponents and the "enemy from within" on CNN — and a stunned Jake Tapper had to keep reminding him that Trump "literally" said the things Youngkin denied he said.
Youngkin repeatedly insisted that Trump was just talking about drastic measures to get border security under control.
"I'm a governor of a state that is not near the southern border and yet I see the impacts of 10 million people illegally coming across the border," he said. "Every single day, five Virginians die on average from fentanyl overdose."
"Obviously there is a border crisis," said Tapper. "Obviously there are too many criminals who should not be in this country and they should be jailed and deported completely. But that's not what I'm talking about, because he was talking about 'sick people,' 'radical left lunatics' who should be handled by the National Guard or the military. 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 is talking about using the National Guard and military against: 'radical left lunatics,' 'enemy from within,' people like Adam Schiff."
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"Again, Jake, I don't think that, and again, I can't speak for him, but I do — I do think that you are misinterpreting and misrepresenting his thoughts," said Youngkin. "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. The Biden-Harris administration has allowed it to happen ... I don't think that he's referring to elected people in America."
"But I'm literally reading his quotes," protested Tapper. "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 quote, 'radical left lunatics' and then one of those lunatics he addressed, he mentioned, was Congressman Adam Schiff. Criminals should be locked up, migrants who are in this country illegally, who are violent, should be locked up and deported. I grant you all of that, and I am not denying that it's happening at all. I'm talking about Donald Trump saying that he wants to use the National Guard and the military to go after the left. That's what he's saying."
"I don't — I don't believe that's what he's saying," insisted Youngkin.
"I played the quote and I read it to you," said Tapper, practically shouting as he visibly lost patience. "You can wish that he weren't saying that, but that's what he's saying."
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