Capitol attack adds urgency to the question: Is Trump a threat?

President Trump’s role in inciting a deadly siege on the Capitol this week has given new urgency to a question that has been building throughout his presidency: Is he a security threat to the very country he was elected to lead?

A growing number of national security veterans, including many who worked in his administration, have come to view the answer as yes, and worry he may yet inflict further damage before he leaves office Jan. 20.

“Even though I think the military is a check here, it doesn’t mean he can’t take some steps that could jeopardize our security,” said Leon E. Panetta, a former CIA director, Defense secretary and chief of staff in Democratic administrations.

The Times contacted 15 current and former national security officials following the Capitol breach, including Cabinet members, White House National Security Council leadership, agency heads, and Homeland Security and State Department staffers. Eleven responded to requests for comment; four did not. The Times conducted interviews with 10, and two requested anonymity, citing professional or legal concerns.

Almost all say Trump poses a threat to U.S. security. Broadly, they view his instigation of violence against another branch of government as the deadly culmination of more than four years of inflammatory rhetoric, grievance, unpredictability and outright lies. Most said Wednesday’s attack, which left at least five dead, should be considered domestic terrorism.

The officials say that Trump’s actions potentially could threaten the United States in multiple ways: by encouraging his hardcore followers to instigate more violence; by disrupting and distracting the nation’s military and security systems in a way that could be exploited by foreign terrorists or nations; and by his own impulsive and erratic actions that could plunge the country into war or trigger some other disaster.

“What would this president do over the next days if it happens again — if a domestic or foreign enemy attacks any element of this country?” said Tom Bossert, Trump’s former homeland security advisor, who left in 2018. “I don’t get the impression he would do a damn thing, and I find that to be alarming.”

John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine Corps general and Trump’s former chief of staff and first Homeland Security secretary, said that Trump’s incendiary rhetoric before the riots on the National Mall was not out of character, but that the president must be held accountable for what resulted.

“I certainly was not surprised at what he said — that’s him,” Kelly said. “I am surprised that American citizens took that to mean we can go to the Capitol and kick in doors and urinate on the House floor.”

Some Washington leaders fear Trump’s instability could even risk nuclear war. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Friday she had spoken with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley “to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable…