Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump is sending federal agents to American cities so that he can cling to power if not reelected in November.
“As a matter of fact, it has been suggested that this is a trial run of the president of the United States who may be organizing to not accept what happens when we have the election if he’s not elected,” the congresswoman told MSNBC.
Trump and Attorney General William Barr announced Wednesday that 200 federal agents were heading to Chicago and Kansas City respectively to “help save lives,” in Barr’s words. (RELATED: Maxine Waters Says Trump’s ‘Dog Whistling’ Contributed To George Floyd’s Death)
Waters vehemently objected to that move while speaking to MSNBC host Joy Reid.
“We have these paramilitary police officers or whomever they are, officers or agents of some kind that’s been organized by the president of the United States. He did not contact the local mayors. He did not contact the governors. He just sent them in. Who are these people?” Waters asked.
Waters referenced some rioters in Portland, Oregon, reportedly being pulled off the street in an aggressive and random way.
“This is what you see in countries where you have dictators. In third world countries where dictators who have paramilitary that they can call anytime they want,” she said. (RELATED: Maxine Waters: Gang Members Have More Integrity Than Trump)
She suggested that once Trump has placed federal forces into cities, he may leave them there to help fight the “civil war” that she says Trump has predicted if he is not reelected.
Federal officers use tear gas and other crowd dispersal munitions on protesters outside the Multnomah County Justice Center on July 17, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. (Mason Trinca/Getty Images)
“Is he going to pull out his military? Is he going to engage us? He has already alluded to there may be a civil war if he’s not reelected,” she continued. “This is dangerous … Who are these people, where did they come from, who’s paying them and why is it being done in secret?”
Waters has repeatedly accused Trump of having sinister intentions and of being racist in his convictions and policies. She adamantly insisted that he colluded with Russian President Vladimir Putin to win the 2016 presidential election, though she admitted she doesn’t “have the facts to prove it.”