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- Jun 18, 2018
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"...they’ve cast Trump’s desire to dispatch the military on US soil as one of his most troubling tendencies – and even...evidence of his authoritarianism. This issue was raised...by two Trump defense secretaries (Jim Mattis and Mark Esper), his top general (Mark Milley) and his chief of staff (John Kelly, also a retired general). All of them have cast this as a line that is not to be crossed and indicated they feared Trump would...cross it. Some even recalled...instances when Trump tried to do so or suggested it. The flashpoint for many of their comments was the scene in June 2020 when federal law enforcement cleared Lafayette Square...of racial-justice protesters. They did so right before Trump strolled through for a photo-op featuring both Milley and Esper. (Both later expressed regret for participating.) Mattis responded with a blistering – and unusual, for him – statement that warned of what the scene portended. “Militarizing our response, as we witnessed...sets up a conflict — a false conflict — between the military and civilian society...It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part.”
Mattis said the military should be used on US soil “only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors.” (Trump’s deployments of the military this summer...came without requests from the governor and mayor. Esper has described a scene in which Trump asked him and Milley why the protesters couldn’t simply be shot “in the legs or something.” ...he said a large part of his job that summer was “making sure to blunt or redirect any efforts that could politicize the military, misuse the force, or undermine the nation’s security.” In a CNN interview in October, Esper even invoked the Kent State massacre, where the National Guard killed four Vietnam War protesters. “We don’t want to go back to that,” Esper said. Kelly likewise has said Trump had to be told repeatedly why he shouldn’t use the military against American citizens.... But he said Trump would just keep pressing the issue. “And I think this issue of using the military on — to go after — American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing — even to say it for political purposes to get elected — I think it’s a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it,” Kelly told the New York Times last year.
In the same interview, Kelly mentioned Trump’s penchant for this while saying he met the definition of a fascist."
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By sending masked ICE thugs into LA to tear apart families, communities and businesses, Trump was able to provoke the disturbances he wanted to send in the military. I guess he isn't bothering with that anymore. It seems like he should at least provoke some violence somewhere if he's going to militarize society and sic the troops on their fellow citizens. The fighting crime angle gets his base worked up, but I'm not sure its sustainable.
Mattis said the military should be used on US soil “only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors.” (Trump’s deployments of the military this summer...came without requests from the governor and mayor. Esper has described a scene in which Trump asked him and Milley why the protesters couldn’t simply be shot “in the legs or something.” ...he said a large part of his job that summer was “making sure to blunt or redirect any efforts that could politicize the military, misuse the force, or undermine the nation’s security.” In a CNN interview in October, Esper even invoked the Kent State massacre, where the National Guard killed four Vietnam War protesters. “We don’t want to go back to that,” Esper said. Kelly likewise has said Trump had to be told repeatedly why he shouldn’t use the military against American citizens.... But he said Trump would just keep pressing the issue. “And I think this issue of using the military on — to go after — American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing — even to say it for political purposes to get elected — I think it’s a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it,” Kelly told the New York Times last year.
In the same interview, Kelly mentioned Trump’s penchant for this while saying he met the definition of a fascist."
Link
By sending masked ICE thugs into LA to tear apart families, communities and businesses, Trump was able to provoke the disturbances he wanted to send in the military. I guess he isn't bothering with that anymore. It seems like he should at least provoke some violence somewhere if he's going to militarize society and sic the troops on their fellow citizens. The fighting crime angle gets his base worked up, but I'm not sure its sustainable.