PROVIDENCE, RI -- After former President Donald Trump suggested last night that former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) should have guns “trained on her face,” U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) condemned Trump’s increasingly violent and unhinged rhetoric and warned that Trump could try to purge the U.S. military, U.S Intelligence, and U.S. Department of Justice of professionals and stock them with extremists who swear an oath to Trump instead of the Constitution.  Today, Senator Reed stated:

“Unlike Liz Cheney or Donald Trump, I actually opposed the war in Iraq and voted against it.  But there is no excuse for Trump’s vile, violent, and unhinged suggestion that a former member of Congress should be targeted like this and have guns trained on her face. 

“People, including myself, may not agree with Liz Cheney on policy, but she respects the Constitution and the rule of law.  Donald Trump has shown through word and deed that he puts himself above the law.  

“Trump has made it clear that he wants to get rid of dedicated, career public servants who have sworn an oath to the Constitution in order to replace them with extremists who will not hesitate to act, without question, on his strange and disturbing statements.  His attitude and rhetoric point to him firing competent officers and replacing them with people who swear allegiance to him, not the Constitution.

“That is very disturbing, completely unprecedented, and should be widely condemned.”