Multiple people who worked for President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration are making plans to flee the country for fear that he might target them once he retakes power in January.
The Washington Post reports that a retired U.S. Army officer who clashed with Trump officials, a member of Trump’s first administration who has publicly denounced him, and a former United States intelligence official are all making plans to flee to foreign nations ahead of Trump’s second inauguration.
“All spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid undermining their own preparations,” writes the Post. “The planning, they acknowledge, responds to a hypothetical worst case scenario in which a second Trump presidency ushers in systematic suppression of free speech and criminalization of dissent.”
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These officials’ anxieties have only increased, the Post reports, after Trump announced he was picking former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to serve as his attorney general and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to serve as his director of national intelligence.
A retired Army officer who has been applying for Italian citizenship told the Post of the Trump appointments, “I feel like I’ve stepped through the looking glass.”
Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer who has represented government whistleblowers, tells the Post that he’s been counseling clients about their options for fleeing the country once Trump returns to the White House.
“The reality is that, thankfully, this isn’t the 1930s; we have time to make decisions about what will be done and where people can go,” he said.