By Steve Neavling
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe admonished Donald Trump and his MAGA sidekick Steve Bannon on Thursday, calling them “paranoid, old men” who are obsessed with exacting revenge on perceived enemies.
In an interview on CNN, McCabe responded to Bannon’s threats that Trump, if elected, would arrest the former deputy director. On Tuesday, Trump elevated the threats by posting a story about Bannon’s remarks on social media.
“These are people who are obsessed with personal grievances and settling scores,” McCabe said. “Their entire way of thinking about leading and administering this country is in the context of having been wronged and trying to engender support among their supporters by throwing this kind of red meat out to people who respond to this sort of language.”
Trump has repeatedly said he may seek revenge on political opponents if he’s elected. Those close to Trump also say he plans to use the FBI and Justice Department go after political opponents.
Trump also has falsely claimed that the FBI agents who searched his Florida home for classified documents last year “were ready to take me out.”
For years, Trump has baselessly insisted he’s the victim of a deep state plot to destroy.
Earlier this month, McCabe said federal law enforcement is fearful of Trump winning a second term because of his rhetoric about the FBI and Justice Department.
In Thursday’s interview, McCabe said Trump’s boorish behavior is antithetical to America’s values.
“What’s really, to me, shocking and disgusting about the rhetoric is what it says about what we are becoming as a nation,” McCabe said.
“Everything he says stands in direct contrast to the nation we think we are, the nation we have always been.”
McCabe pointed out that Bannon is going to jail soon, and Trump could also be incarcerated. On Thursday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied Bannon’s request to remain out of prison while he appeals his conviction on contempt of Congress charges.
McCabe said voters must decide if they want America to turn a dark turn.
“I think people have got to start asking themselves, ‘Is this the direction that we want to go? Is this that we’re becoming – a place where the incoming president takes the levers of power and uses them for his own gratification to pursue enemies,’” McCabe said.
