Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is once again stirring controversy, this time accusing President Donald Trump of pushing the country toward civil war. Speaking in an interview, Waters declared, “I’m worried that Trump is on the edge of creating a civil war. He alluded to it more than once.”
It certainly wouldn’t be a Trump presidency if Democrats weren’t claiming that Trump wants to start a civil war. We heard that kind of rhetoric during his first term, and of course, it was inevitable that we’d hear it during his second.
She went further, claiming Trump had suggested there could be a civil war if he wasn’t reelected. “Now, this president is putting us in a position where hungry people are going to be on the street,” she said, without evidence. “Where non-profits who were waiting for their checks are not going to get them. When that happens, what does Trump expect? Oh, I believe he expects violence. I believe he expects confrontation. I believe he’s working toward a civil war.”
Waters insisted, however, that Democrats wouldn’t take the bait. “We’re not going to get goaded. We’re not going to get tricked into that. We’re going to continue to do our work,” she said.
Her remarks drew immediate backlash from Trump supporters, who accused her of stoking division while blaming Trump for the very thing she appeared to be warning against. During a panel on CNN, conservative commentator Scott Jennings pointed out that Waters is far from alone in making such inflammatory comments.
“Hakeem Jeffries said earlier this year, ‘We’re going to fight in the streets.’ Ayanna Pressley, Jasmine Crockett, other members of the Democratic Conference have continuously alluded to violence because they’re so angry about the Trump administration,” Jennings said.
CNN’s Abby Phillip pushed back, arguing that Jeffries’ remarks were about protesting. “Well, I don’t — I think it’s unfair to say that they’re alluding to violence,” she said, before trying to clarify that “when Jeffries was saying that, he was talking about going to the streets in protest.”
Jennings wasn’t convinced. “He said, ‘Fight in the streets,’” he countered. Of course, he's correct.
“Right now, we're going to keep focused on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working-class Americans across the country with the bill. That's not acceptable,” Jeffries said back in January. “We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We're going to fight it in the streets.”
WATCH: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calls for violence as he says people must "fight" President Trump's agenda "in the streets." pic.twitter.com/ZEEkhtIGbZ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 31, 2025
The implication was clear. The left can claim that this was a call for protesting, but many saw it for what it really was: a call for violence. One only needs to look at the violence leftists are perpetrating against Tesla dealerships and owners to know that left-wing activists got the message.
Naturally, the liberal media makes excuses for this rhetoric, and Phillip, faced with the facts Jennings presented to her, most certainly knew he was right but wouldn’t admit it.
“I think that's not what — that's clearly not the concept,” she muttered.
Pete Seat, another conservative voice on the panel, pointed out the hypocrisy. “But if Trump uses the word ‘fight,’ everyone loses their minds,” he noted.
Scott Jennings is right.
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) March 14, 2025
The Democrats love to incite violence against Republicans and then gaslight about President Trump. pic.twitter.com/j7k9g6YIVG
Democrats are trying to incite violence while pretending to be proponents of peaceful protest. And the liberal media is always there to give them cover. And this isn't a new phenomenon either.
Make no mistake about it: Democrats want a civil war.
