A day after President Donald Trump told the generals and high -ranking admirals that the United States is fighting a “war from the inside”, the speaker Mike Johnson said that the president’s comments show his ability to “take the crime seriously”, while the leader of the minority of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, said the comments were “disturbing.”
The two politicians spoke on Wednesday in “Good Morning America” about the president’s statements along with the closure of the government, which entered into force at 12:01 AM on Wednesday.
While Johnson said he had not heard Trump’s comments on Tuesday, since he was “a little busy,” he said that the president “takes crime seriously.” Johnson also said that Trump’s comments on violence in American cities were “selected by a long speech.”

Mike Johnson talks to ABC News, October 1, 2025, after a government closure.
ABC News
Trump said Tuesday that the military’s work is not only to protect the United States from threats abroad, but also what he repeatedly referred to as domestic enemy In American cities.
“It is a war from the inside,” the president told the High Rank Military General’s Hall that flew from all over the world to Quantico, Virginia. “We are under invasion from the inside,” Trump said.
Trump talked about his efforts to increase the use of the US army in US cities. Trump said that the cities administered by Democrat, such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco, are in “poor condition”, and that he threatened to “straighten them, one by one.”

Hakeem Jeffries speaks with ABC News, October 1, 2025, after a government closure.
ABC News
“I told Pete [Hegseth] We should use some of these dangerous cities such as training fields for our National Military Guard, “he said.
When asked if using military troops in American cities was appropriate, Johnson said: “I don’t serve in the Pentagon, I say the House of Representatives.”
Johnson then said that Trump has “cleaned the crime problem” in Washington, DC, after mobilizing the National Guard of DC in August.
Jeffries said that the president’s comment was a “deeply disturbing statement”, saying that we need “presidential leadership that brings together people instead of destroying us.”
“A single American should never be seen as an ‘enemy from the inside’ or as a destination practice for the US army,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries told “GMA” that Americans have “rejected the deployment and occupation of American cities and towns and counties with US military troops.”
“We have the best army in the world and should be used to keep ourselves safe from external enemies,” Jeffries added.
Trump’s comments occur after ordering Federal Troops to Portland, Oregon, due to what they alleged that they were threats of national terrorists. The mayor of the city and the state governor emphasized that they did not ask the troops and opposed Trump’s action.