Fact-checking Harris’ claim Trump would deploy the military against U.S. citizens
In a litany of attacks against Trump, Harris cited the former president’s “explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens.’
In 2023, Trump told voters at a campaign rally in Iowa that he wouldn’t wait for governors or mayors to “get crime out of our cities" by calling in the military.
Calling New York City and Chicago “crime dens,” Trump said, “And one of the other things I’ll do — because you’re supposed to not be involved in that, you just have to be asked by the governor or the mayor to come in — the next time, I’m not waiting. One of the things I did was let them run it, and we’re going to show how bad a job they do ... We don’t have to wait any longer.”
—PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman