Washington DC - President Donald Trump doubled down on his vow to denaturalize US citizens in response to the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national last week.

"You mean people that are in here that shouldn't be here?" Trump asked when questioned by a reporter about his recent vow to denaturalize US citizens.

Trump had made the promise in a raging Truth Social post after two National Guard members were shot in Washington DC last week.

Amid a list of ways he wants to attack immigrants, Trump said he would "denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization."

Naturalized US citizens can only lose their citizenship if it is found that they intentionally concealed facts, lied, or misrepresented themselves to authorities during the naturalization process. Denaturalization traditionally occurs through the legal system, not via an order from the US president.

"We'll see, I mean, yeah, we have criminals that came into our country, and they were naturalized maybe through Biden or somebody that didn't know what they were doing," Trump told reporters on Sunday.

"I have the power to do it," he added. "I'm not sure that I do, but if I do, I would denaturalize, absolutely."

This is not the first time Trump has attacked the citizenship process. When he returned to office in January, he signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

The order has suffered major setbacks, with judges across the country blocking it on the basis that it violates the Constitution's 14th Amendment.