Already looking ahead to the turmoil his re-election could cause, Donald Trump and his allies are reportedly circling an idea to invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office, deploying the military to act as domestic law enforcement.

According to a Washington Post report on Sunday, the drafting of such plans has largely been ā€œunofficially outsourcedā€ thus far to a coalition of right-wing think tanks working under the title ā€œProject 2025.ā€ It was identified as an immediate priority for the hypothetical resurrected Trump administration, internal communications obtained by the newspaper showed.

In response to questions from the Post, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung provided a statement: ā€œPresident Trump is focused on crushing his opponents in the primary election and then going on to beat Crooked Joe Biden,ā€ he said. ā€œPresident Trump has always stood for law and order, and protecting the Constitution.ā€

  • PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Hmm, maybe that could introduce some variability but Iā€™d point to the DC riots where NG troops were so ashamed of what they were doing that several confessed to reporters that they were lying to their families and saying they werenā€™t deployed for that.

    Ultimately itā€™ll end up coming down to how willing your typical boots on the ground in the moment soldier would react to being given such a wildly unconstitutional order as to openly engage in hostilities against dissenters, to that end I believe the US shares Germanyā€™s protection of the right to refuse an unlawful order and to arrest the superior issuing and trying to force it.

    I also think most military higher ups tend to air at least on the side of not being flagrant about contempting the general lean of the public against a more right wing posture, so Iā€™d place decent odds that Trump would be playing with the possibility of the US military going on strike rather than assisting his attempt at being a big strong boss man and locking up everyone who disagrees.

    We could debate what a general strike would do to the US economy, but we can all agree that the USM going on strike would more or less instantly prompt constitutional crisis mode.

    • Carlo@lemmy.ca
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      8 months ago

      Yeah, it would be a dangerous move for Trump, certainly. Iā€™m cautiously optimistic about the military not supporting a fascist coup, but a lot less sanguine about them participating in a general strike. Regardless, itā€™s frustrating how many people seem to think the military is just the cops with bigger guns. The culture is completely different. If anything, Iā€™d say the average soldierā€™s mentality hews much closer to ā€œProtect and Serveā€, rather than toxic warrior-cop ā€œcivilians are the enemyā€ bullshit that infects seemingly every police department.

    • pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      The military is there to preserve the system and nothing more. Itā€™ll mow down dissenters regardless of who they are. The military is ultimately the only branch that holds any real power since theyā€™re the ones with greater access to violence anyway, and could just hold a coup and take over the government the same way they do in third world countries.

      • Carlo@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        When you post these kinds of c/iā€™m14andthisisdeep takes, completely devoid of nuance, it just makes it seem like you donā€™t have a single clue what youā€™re talking about. No offense intended, I honestly edited this comment several times, attempting to make it more civil.

        • pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          When you dismiss sound arguments and obvious facts with an appeal to a sub that doesnā€™t even exist on Lemmy yet, we know youā€™re just a hopeless retard who doesnā€™t want to hear the truth, will only get people killed and should not be listened to or respected.

      • PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        Yeah except how the military isnā€™t an independent institution and any attempt to try would immediately be met with having their entire budget cut their leaders arrested and every soldier who even breathed agreement with the notion being given their own cell in the newly built supermax prison made to order just for them, assuming they arenā€™t all executed for treason and insurrection that is.