Newsmax Host Asks Republican Governor About the Potential for a Civil ‘Force on Force’ Conflict in Texas
Newsmax host Carl Higbie asked Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday about the potential for a “force on force” conflict between Gov. Greg Abbott’s Texas National Guard and federal border officials.
“So Governor, there’s rumblings that Joe Biden should or may actually federalize the National Guard, take that power away from Greg Abbott,” said Higbie, adding:
Let’s say this showdown– I mean, that’s, that’s what it is, it’s a showdown, it’s a showdown of power and loyalties and constitutionality. Let’s say he does that, how many people say, “No. You know what? Screw you, Biden administration,” and how many people stay and fight with Texas versus the federal things, and does that put us on course for a force on force conflict?
“This is a powder keg worth of tension,” replied Stitt. “So it’s a very weird situation.”
He continued:
We certainly stand with Texas on the right to defend themselves, but Biden’s gonna be in a tough situation, so in other words, he’s going to try to federalize these troops. In other words, put them on federal orders, and so now their allegiance technically goes to the president of the United States instead of the governor, and of course I think a lot of Texans– these are still– they’re still Texans that are weekend, you know they’re in the National Guard, they do one weekend a month or when they get called up on duties by the governor, and I think they would be in a difficult situation to protect their homeland or to follow what Biden’s saying. I think it will be very interesting.
But then, you know, then you’ve got Oklahoma and Florida and Tennessee and you’ve got all these other states that would send our National Guard to help and to support the efforts of Governor Abbott, because every state is a border state. You talked about fentanyl. The deaths in Oklahoma since I’ve taken office are up 500% and we know that’s coming across the southern border, and then you think about the terrorists.
Stitt told Higbie that he would bring back all Oklahoma National Guard currently stationed in Djibouti and Kenya, and would be looking at sending them to the southern border “in the not-so-distant future.”
He concluded, “We’ll be in contact with Governor Abbott and whatever he needs our support for.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Abbott accused Biden of breaking “his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress,” and said Texas reserved its “right of self-defense.”
Abbott declared, “For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.”
Republican governors from 25 states have expressed support for Abbott amid the standoff, and on Thursday, former President Donald Trump called on “all willing States to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of Illegals, and to remove them back across the Border.”
Trump concluded, “Those Biden has let in should not get comfortable because they will be going home.”
Watch above via Newsmax.
