On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” former FBI Special Agent Clint Watts reacted to President Trump’s tweets about the FBI by stating Trump is “an enemy of the state whenever he is pushing against the FBI in that way.”
Watts said, “This is more Trump first, America second. I mean, I was worried a year ago about Russia tearing down democratic institutions. I’m more now worried about our president tearing down democratic institutions. He is the leader of the executive branch. He should be the one setting the tone for the FBI. He should be supporting them, pushing them in the right direction. If he does believe they’re in tatters, which I think is absolute nonsense, the best way to go about that would be, be a leader, set an agenda. And instead, he’s going on the attack. And that’s going to backfire on him. It may solidify his base. But it’s also undermining our country. He is actually weakening the credibility of the federal law enforcement agency for the entire United States. He’s going to sow doubt in their ability, and he is going to hurt the ability of our law enforcement and judicial systems with his claims. So he is an enemy of the state whenever he is pushing against the FBI in that way.”
Later on, Watts stated Trump takes “a discrediting approach. It’s what authoritarians do all around the world. We’ve seen that repeatedly. And now, they’re modeling their behavior off of our president, which is somewhat ironic and also scary.”
(h/t Grabien)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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