2024 US election updates: Harris agrees to Fox interview ahead of dueling campaign stops in Pennsylvania

Trump’s “enemies within” and the electionpublished at 4:03 p.m. British Summer Time

16:03 BST

Gordon Corera
Security correspondent, reporting from Washington DC

Where does the biggest threat to U.S. security and the election come from?

Donald Trump's statement that “internal enemies” pose a greater risk than Russia and China is a sign of how differently he speaks about the world than the national security community.

In recent months, US intelligence has warned of election interference by China, Russia and Iran.

They fear that cyberattacks or social media campaigns could try to influence the outcome of the election or undermine their legitimacy.

But in an interview, Donald Trump called domestic protesters – “radical left-wing lunatics” – the biggest risk to the election itself. In a speech, he called Congressman Adam Schiff, who led the impeachment trial against him, one of the “domestic enemies.”

Trump's comments that the National Guard or even the military could be deployed to deal with protests will bring back memories of 2020, when he spoke of their use to deal with protests over the death of George Floyd.

That put some military leaders in what they said was an uncomfortable position.

His comments are a stark reminder that domestic divisions, wherever they come from, rather than foreign interference, may be the biggest problem in November and its aftermath.