For Trump, This Is a Dress Rehearsal

[NWRatCon]

For Trump, This Is a Dress Rehearsal (Atlantic)​

Ordering the National Guard to deploy in Los Angeles is a warning of what to expect when his hold on power is threatened.
By David Frum

"...
if the Trump-Hegseth threats have little purpose as law enforcement, they signify great purpose as political strategy. Since Trump’s reelection, close observers of his presidency have feared a specific sequence of events that could play out ahead of midterm voting in 2026:

Step 1: Use federal powers in ways to provoke some kind of made-for-TV disturbance—flames, smoke, loud noises, waving of foreign flags.

Step 2: Invoke the disturbance to declare a state of emergency and deploy federal troops.

Step 3: Seize control of local operations of government—policing in June 2025; voting in November 2026.

Some of Trump’s most fervent supporters urged him to follow this plan in November 2020. But in 2020, they waited too long—until after the votes were cast. Using the military to overturn an election already completed was too extreme a step for a Department of Defense headed by a law-respecting Cabinet secretary such as Mark Esper. Trump looked to the courts instead. Only after the courts disappointed him did Trump attempt violence, and then the only available tool of violence was the lightly armed mob he summoned to Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021. Harrowing as those events were, they never stood much chance of success: Without the support of any element of the military, Trump’s rioters could not impose the outcome Trump wanted.

But the methods Trump threatened in Los Angeles this weekend could be much more effective in November 2026 than the attempted civilian coup of January 2021."

I have noted in numerous threads the Trump regime's reliance on fascist methodology, and this is a classic example of that. No reasonable observer believes that anything occurring in Los Angeles, or elsewhere, constitutes a "rebellion"; just as there is no immigration "invasion". These are just pathetic efforts to justify the unjustifiable.

Trump is trying to enhance his authority by abusing language in federal statutes, distorting them out of recognition. "Second-term Trump and his new team are avidly using those powers in ways never intended or imagined." If this sounds historically resonant, consider the sequence of events that led to the installation of Adolph Hitler a century ago.

Hitler's Rise to Power: A Timeline

The Nazis' rise to power began in 1919 with Adolf Hitler's infiltration of the German Workers' Party. Learn Hitler's rise to power timeline.

www.thoughtco.com

This is not an exaggeration, and the historical parallels are uncanny. Like Hitler, Trump joined an existing party and took it over. Like Hitler, he staged a failed coup. Like Hitler, he was a convicted felon (although for other crimes, as Trump's trial for his coup attempt was interrupted.) Like Hitler he has organized "irregulars" to engage in violence on his behalf - the Beer Hall Putsch, Kristallnacht, January 6 - and pardoned them for their illegal and violent behavior. Like Hitler, he has installed loyalists in government positions, replacing the qualified technocrats who previously held those positions. Like Hitler, he is engaging in censorship, intimidation, revocation of civil liberties, and use of military forces to suppress opposition.

We are in serious peril, but being forewarned is being forearmed. So far, federal courts have reined in the worst abuses, but that effort is being overwhelmed by the incredible and historic number of cases that are being brought. This regime is acting in so many different illegal ways, the courts cannot keep up with the sheer volume. That is deliberate, and this use of force is being used to condition the populace to both the violence and military enforcement - just like Hitler.

The rhyming themes are unmistakable.

 

[phoenix2020]

Fortunately, 70%+ of Americans do not support Donald Trump, and the majority of that group have very clear rights under the 2nd Amendment to defend America from tyranny should Donald attempt to steal the 2026 election as he did in 2020-21. Donald will have to figure out how to restrict the 2nd Amendment in order to achieve whatever Stephen Miller has instructed him to do.

 

[Along Came Jones]

Hitler was 43 years old when President Von Hindenberg named him chancellor. Trump is 78 years old. Unless there's a closet junta meeting in the White House, whatever autocratic aspirations he has will pass with his passing. He couldn't even maintain a partnership with his favorite bud, Elon Musk.

I don't believe a dictatorship of any kind is the threat. The challenge is turning the chaos he leaves behind into reinvigorating order. Are our long standing institutions strong enough for that?

 

[BitterPill]

Hitler was 43 years old when President Von Hindenberg named him chancellor. Trump is 78 years old. Unless there's a closet junta meeting in the White House, whatever autocratic aspirations he has will pass with his passing. He couldn't even maintain a partnership with his favorite bud, Elon Musk.

I don't believe a dictatorship of any kind is the threat. The challenge is turning the chaos he leaves behind into reinvigorating order. Are our long standing institutions strong enough for that?

President von Hindenburg didn't name Trump chancellor, but I am sure he would have.

It's the future Ernst Rohm's we need to fear like Liz Cheney, Rand Paul and especially Elon Musk.

MAGA.

 

[Tangmo]

Hitler was 43 years old when President Von Hindenberg named him chancellor. Trump is 78 years old. Unless there's a closet junta meeting in the White House, whatever autocratic aspirations he has will pass with his passing. He couldn't even maintain a partnership with his favorite bud, Elon Musk.

I don't believe a dictatorship of any kind is the threat. The challenge is turning the chaos he leaves behind into reinvigorating order. Are our long standing institutions strong enough for that?

There is Vance, there is Don Jr and a long line of waiting successors to the permanent MAGA title of dictatortyrant.

Your post is shortsighted fantasy and wish making that provides a totally false feeling of comfort that the passing of Trump will remove all that has occurred since 2015 and continues to occur with its numerous heirs. Your post deludes itself into wanting and believing it will suddenly all go away when Trump crosses the River Styx. And everything will be fine and dandy again.

NOT !

MAGAs are fascists and MAGAs have always been fascists. They insist on their Dictatorship of the Moron Magaletariat. Whoever succeeds Trump will do what he needs to do, which is to eliminate his rivals and take complete charge of his own personal fascist dictatorship. Your post attempts to minimize these realities if not remove them.

 

[Mycroft]

For Trump, This Is a Dress Rehearsal (Atlantic)​

Ordering the National Guard to deploy in Los Angeles is a warning of what to expect when his hold on power is threatened.
By David Frum

"...
if the Trump-Hegseth threats have little purpose as law enforcement,

So...that entire screed depends upon this one little phrase.

Since the Trump-Hegseth threats are ALL ABOUT law enforcement, that means that entire article in the Atlantic is nothing more than a fart in the wind.

 

[Artymoon]

Got a hand it to some here, invoking the name of Hitler for all things Trump didn't play well so continuing to see it surface is amusing.

 

[NWRatCon]

Got a hand it to some here, invoking the name of Hitler for all things Trump didn't play well so continuing to see it surface is amusing.

Bury your head in the sand, or....wherever. Reality can bite you. Hard. It's the things we ignore that bite hardest.

 

[ataraxia]

Got a hand it to some here, invoking the name of Hitler for all things Trump didn't play well so continuing to see it surface is amusing.

I am glad you find un-American fascism amusing.

 

[Artymoon]

Bury your head in the sand, or....wherever. Reality can bite you. Hard. It's the things we ignore that bite hardest.

Most people in the real world realized how irrational this line of thought was so reality in fact did bite when Trump was reelected. I have no problem if you wish to continue down that avenue as I view it as a source of entertainment.

 

[j brown's body]

So...that entire screed depends upon this one little phrase.

Since the Trump-Hegseth threats are ALL ABOUT law enforcement, that means that entire article in the Atlantic is nothing more than a fart in the wind.

Hitler was very big on law and order.

 

[j brown's body]

Got a hand it to some here, invoking the name of Hitler for all things Trump didn't play well so continuing to see it surface is amusing.

I can understand your viewing everything in the context of political power as it defines everything Trump does.

But then, there are just facts that get expressed simply because they are facts.

 

[Stealers Wheel]

So...that entire screed depends upon this one little phrase.

Since the Trump-Hegseth threats are ALL ABOUT law enforcement, that means that entire article in the Atlantic is nothing more than a fart in the wind.

All a pretense to do away with the laws (1st amendment) they don't like. The press and protesters must be silenced. What better way to accomplish this than to manufacture the "burning of the Reichstag"?

 

[Artymoon]

I can understand your viewing everything in the context of political power as it defines everything Trump does.

But then, there are just facts that get expressed simply because they are facts.

That's the funny thing about facts, everyone thinks their facts are in fact, fact. But please, Hitler on...

 

[NWRatCon]

That's the funny thing about facts, everyone thinks their facts are in fact, fact. But please, Hitler on...

Not a student of history.

 

[Artymoon]

Not a student of history.

Jinx. That's the very same thing that I thought.

 

[NWRatCon]

Jinx. That's the very same thing that I thought.

So, you admit it. That's honorable of you.

 

[Along Came Jones]

There is Vance, there is Don Jr and a long line of waiting successors to the permanent MAGA title of dictatortyrant.

Your post is shortsighted fantasy and wish making that provides a totally false feeling of comfort that the passing of Trump will remove all that has occurred since 2015 and continues to occur with its numerous heirs. Your post deludes itself into wanting and believing it will suddenly all go away when Trump crosses the River Styx. And everything will be fine and dandy again.

NOT !

MAGAs are fascists and MAGAs have always been fascists. They insist on their Dictatorship of the Moron Magaletariat. Whoever succeeds Trump will do what he needs to do, which is to eliminate his rivals and take complete charge of his own personal fascist dictatorship. Your post attempts to minimize these realities if not remove them.

Short sighted fantasy? A long line of successors-in-waiting? With all your service and experience, you ought to have more faith in the institutions you helped to keep strong.

 

[NWRatCon]

I have started a number of threads based on the writings of diverse authors on the left and right of the political spectrum. David Frum is decidedly one of the latter. Students of history and political philosophy recognize the process of authoritarian takeover. This is not speculation. This is not hyperbole. This is observation. There are numerous modern examples.

There is a stubborn reluctance of many people to accept what they are themselves seeing. It's in the open. It's readily observable. There isn't even a counterargument. It's just a matter of accepting the obvious. It's not even refuted.

My observation about Hitler's rise, and the parallels, is not even unique. It is well known among historians. There are numerous other examples that follow the same pattern. It's not hysteria. Again, it's just observation. It's documented. We, all of us, need to be informed. That's all this is. That's all this thread is intended to be: Information. Do with it what you will.

 

[uptower]

 

[Tangmo]

Short sighted fantasy? A long line of successors-in-waiting? With all your service and experience, you ought to have more faith in the institutions you helped to keep strong.

Aw shucks thx, but I'm 80 now and it's just inevitable that without my expired service and experience the country has gone to hell and its institutions are under attack by MAGA fascists who are wrecking the federal government. But MAGAs who with their Generalissimo Trump want to turn the armed forces into the Generalissimo Trump's private Gestapo isn't going to fly either as it were -- I'm still kicking on this one.

 

[Lethargic Aptitude]

Got a hand it to some here, invoking the name of Hitler for all things Trump didn't play well so continuing to see it surface is amusing.

Reality is not a popularity contest.