The last time around, Trump’s efforts to pack the Defense Department with cranks and flunkies came too late to bring the military under his full political control. The president and his advisers were slow-footed and disorganized, and lacked familiarity with Washington politics. They were hindered as well by the courage and professionalism of the military officers and civilian appointees who, side by side, serve in the Defense Department.

… In a second term, Trump would combine his instincts for revenge and self-protection. He would seek not only to get even with an officer corps that he thinks betrayed him, but also to break the military as one of the few institutions able to constrain his attempts to act against the Constitution and the rule of law.

  • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I’m worried we’re gonna be some level of politically fucked no matter what but I’m 100% sure that if Trump wins or is handed the election like W in 2000 the United States will cease to exist not only as we know it but potentially as an entity altogether. It will be civil war, because as fucked up as our system is there are still decent people in positions of power to resist what he tries to do and he will send the military in to enforce.

    That’s already a civil war to me but when citizens resist and there’s mutinies from any percentage of soldiers that refuse to fire on their countrymen it will become a full conflict and that will cascade one way or the other to the rest of the country. Maybe not every city or county, but enough of them.

    • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      he will send the military in to enforce.

      Gonna be more than a few deserters. I don’t think the president can even deploy federal troops stateside, and you better believe the national guard aren’t going to shoot their neighbors.

        • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Trump and his team twice prepared memos and executive orders enacting posse comitatus against black lives matters protesters and to seize election equipment from municipal county and state governments.

          Only a few adults in the room were able to stop us from going into effect. If he wins another term, those adults will not be in the room. They are planning to purge the government on day one and are already building lists of thousands of people who are potential loyalists to Trump.

          It will truly be the end of American democracy and that is not hyperbole at all.

    • treadful
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      11 months ago

      My bet is a silent takeover with little resistance.