During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump called for the deployment of military forces against his political rivals, the “enemy within.” He clearly intends to use them as the armed wing of his political program. During his last term, sensible people around him dissuaded him from doing so.
This is no longer the case. Trump has vowed to engage in “retaliation.” If elected, he said he would not hesitate to order the army to intervene in major urban centers. Most are led by Democrats.
Indeed, it seems that nothing is stopping him from mobilizing the army to repress large-scale demonstrations. Trump says a president is free to do almost anything with impunity. And the Supreme Court that he controls agreed with him.
The federal Insurrection Act effectively gives the president considerable discretion to decide when he can deploy the military. He could even invoke it, analysts fear, if the mid-term elections in two years do not go in his favor.
During his first term, Trump’s military advisers — “My generals,” as he called them — had a moderating influence on his impulses to use force. Most ended up resigning or being fired.
After the 2020 election, when Trump refused to acknowledge his defeat, he fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who disagreed with him, with just over two months left in the House- White.
The Pentagon, a priority for Trump
One of his main acolytes and henchmen, Steve Bannon, declares: “You are going to see a big housecleaning at the Pentagon.” He will place individuals there willing to follow his orders, whatever they may be.
Not all senior officers are anti-Trump. A group of 124 retired generals and admirals signed a letter supporting his challenge to the 2020 elections, saying the “Constitutional Republic is lost” without “fair and honest elections.” And more than 150 charged with crimes related to the attack on the Capitol had military backgrounds.
“Like any good dictator, he’s going to try to use the military to accomplish his will,” said Leon Panetta, former defense secretary and CIA director during the Obama administration.
To the sound of trumpets and cadenced footsteps
If Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, there will be officers who obey the commander in chief. But some will certainly refuse, if the order goes against democratic and constitutional principles. What will happen if a majority of the members of the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff refuse to obey? A coup?
For roughly 250 years, American democracy has proven remarkably resilient. Then came Trump. Supported by a groundswell, it could well put an end to democracy and the American dream… to the sound of trumpets and cadenced footsteps.
