Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said she has received a flurry of criticism, as well as death threats, following a Aug. 24 interview she gave last week with Newsmax host Eric Bolling. Palin initially expressed concern that multiple court cases and scores of criminal charges leveled against former President Donald Trump could spark a civil war in America.

Not only is Trump fighting four court cases that entail 91 separate charges, but he was also forced to surrender to Georgia authorities last Thursday where he was briefly booked and fingerprinted before being released. That marked the fourth time Trump has been indicted and arrested this year.

All of this is occurring while Trump remains the clear Republican favorite for the 2024 presidential election, causing many of his followers to view the charges as politically motivated attacks aimed at derailing his quest to reclaim the White House.

They’ll attack the messenger who’s asking the question, but they won’t answer the question, ‘What is it you want leftists with all you’re doing to fundamentally transform America into something you don’t recognize.

– Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

On Aug. 24, Palin asked the question: “I think those who are conducting this travesty and creating this two-tiered system of justice – I want to asked them, ‘What the heck? Do you want us to be in civil war? Because that is what’s going to happen.”

Palin added that Americans are not going to just “keep putting up with this.”

“And Eric I like that you suggested that we need to get angry,” she said. “We do need to rise up and take our country back.”

Those comments sparked headlines over the weekend, claiming that Palin was “calling for civil war.”

On Aug. 28, Palin returned to Newsmax to clarify her comments.

“They twisted my words,” she told Bolling. “What a weekend. I basically had to just hunker down because of the threats and lies and false accusations of me supposedly calling for civil war. No, I asked a question, and I will repeat, exactly that question – the left, riling us up, stealing more and more of our peace, of our resources, of our income – transforming America fundamentally – ‘What is it that you want, Left? Do YOU want a  civil war, because we don’t. I don’t.’”

In terms of her comment on “taking the country back,” Palin said she was referring to the ballot box.

“I thought that could go unsaid, because that’s just the obvious,” she said. “It’s funny though. They won’t answer the question. They’ll attack the messenger who’s asking the question, but they won’t answer the question, ‘What is it you want leftists with all you’re doing to fundamentally transform America into something you don’t recognize.”

The day before Palin’s initial Newsmax interview, Tucker Carlson spoke with Trump in a X (formerly Twitter) interview that has generated more than 262 million views – far outperforming the Fox News Republican Primary debate held that same night.

In the wide-ranging interview, Tucker asked Trump whether he thinks there is a possibility of “open conflict” in America.

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Trump responded. “I can say this. There is a level of passion that I’ve never seen. There is a level of hatred that I’ve never seen, and that’s probably a bad combination.”

Trump has adamantly maintained his innocence in the four court cases he faces, and in the latest RealClearPolitics.com polling data, he retains a lead of 40 to 50 points over his nearest Republican rivals. In a head-to-head competition against President Biden, the race is deadlocked in a statistical tie.

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