Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency, said Tuesday that Donald Trump Jr.’s comments about the Russia investigation and the FBI were “scary” and appealed “to the heart of autocracy.”
Trump slammed the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s election interference and President Donald Trump’s campaign while speaking with a group of young conservative activists at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Florida on Tuesday. He also suggested that the focus on his father’s campaign — and on the president — was fueled by anti-Trump sentiment at the Department of Justice and the FBI.
“There is, and there are, people at the highest levels of government that don’t want to let America be America,” the younger Trump said. “My father talked about a rigged system throughout the campaign, and people were like, ‘Oh, what are you talking about?'” he added. “But it is. And you’re seeing it.”
During his interview with Hayden on Tuesday night, the CNN host Don Lemon played a clip of the younger Trump’s comments and asked the former intelligence chief what he thought.
“Well, I have to confess to you, when I first heard that earlier this evening, that was a little scary,” Hayden replied. “I mean, that is an appeal to the heart of autocracy and challenging the patriotism of those folks who work in the US government.”
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