In my view, and in the view of a lot of intelligence experts, the terrorist threat that we face now has morphed significantly from the days of 9/11 to homegrown violent extremism. We have to be concerned and focused on homegrown violent extremism, countering violent extremism that exists within our borders.
Jeh JohnsonI'll never forget what a Catholic priest told me; he said, "If you try to padlock the door, you have to give people an alternative path - an alternative, safer path. You can't padlock, and you shouldn't padlock a burning building."
Jeh JohnsonThe good news is that the international coalition, in which our military contributes, has done a lot to reduce the ground space, the territory in Iraq, Syria that ISIL once occupied a couple years ago. That's a good thing. And a lot of that, frankly, has occurred in Trump administration, so I'll give them credit for that.
Jeh JohnsonThe Secret Service hates to complain about something. They're secret by nature. They're not boastful; they don't like to be in the limelight. And therefore, they need middle management, i.e., a Cabinet-level person, to be their advocate, to Congress, to the White House, to ensure that they have adequate funding.
Jeh JohnsonAnd we need a president who is a uniter, not a divider; who can lower the temperature, not raise the temperature. And I wish President Trump would spend more time trying to go beyond his immediate base to reach people, and use the presidential microphone to try to bring people together, instead of the rhetoric that seems to divide us.
Jeh Johnson