Firebrand Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California encouraged her colleagues and the public to fight back against President Donald Trump’s attempts to remake the government in his vision through nonviolence – believing the president is “on the edge of creating a civil war.”
Waters, a longtime opponent of Trump, told reporters Thursday she believes the president’s recent string of policy-changing executive orders, mass firing of federal workers and implementation of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency is to rile up the public.
“I think, perhaps, it is about gathering the power and bringing us to our knees so that when he changes America with his vision that we will begging for crumbs, basically,” Waters said during a news conference with the Congressional Black Caucus.
California Representative Maxine Waters said she believes President Donald Trump is ‘creating a civil war’ (REUTERS)
Trump’s actions have sparked outrage from some Democrats and protests from the public.
“I’m worried that Trump is on the edge of creating a civil war. He alluded to it more than once. He alluded to the fact that if he did not get re-elected, there could be a civil war,” Waters added.
Over the last eight years, the president has made multiple references to the civil war. In 2019, Trump repeated a claim that if he was removed from office due to impeachment, it could cause a Civil War-like fracture. Last year, he touted that he believed the American Civil War could have been “negotiated.”
While the president has not directly stated there would be a civil war, he has made references to the potential for violence.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump did not rule out the possibility of violence if he did not win the election, saying it “depends on the fairness of the election.” However, he also has famously downplayed violence that took place on January 6, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.
Waters joined other leaders and protesters in rejecting Elon Musk’s recent ascent to power (Getty Images for MoveOn)
Based on his previous comments, Waters believes Trump is drastically changing the organization and authority of federal agencies and departments to get a rise out of Democrats and opponents but also fulfill his desire to “be a dictator.”
“Now we know he wants to be a dictator, we know he’s in love with Putin, we know he even loves Kim Jong-un in North Korea,” Waters said during the new conference.
“I believe he expects violence. I believe he expects confrontation. I believe he is working toward a civil war,” Waters said. “We’re not going to get goated, we’re not going to get tricked into that. We’re going to continue to do our work.”
Waters implored her colleagues to follow Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings of peaceful, organized protests.
“We’re going to fight. We in this fight. We’re going to fight. We’re going to peacefully protest. We’re going to talk to our people,” Waters said.
