Trump prepares the generals for what comes next.
Jonathan V. Last at The Bulwark:
If you were expectingย Triumph of the Will, you were disappointed because what you got instead was fat, disoriented Elvis stumbling through his set. Except that it wasnโt funny. It was dangerous. I promise you that the flag officers in attendance were more alarmed than amused. And you should be, too.
1. โThe Enemy from Withinโ
President Trump did not have many bad things to say about Americaโs foreign adversaries. He spoke about Vladimir Putin in largely neutral terms (only saying he was โdisappointedโ in him) and barely mentioned China. He did, however, speak with great moral clarity about certain classes of Americans whom he views as a grave threat:
The American left: โTheyโre really bad. Theyโre bad people.โ Again, heโs talking about Americans here.
His own domestic political opponents: โTheyโre vicious people that we have to fight, just like you have to fight vicious people. Mine are a different kind of vicious.โ
American journalists: โsleazebags.โ
Residents of American inner cities: โanimals.โ
2. The Home Guard
The most consequential parts of the commander-in-chiefโs speech were the sections in which he attempted to prepare flag officers for increased deployment of the military in American cities. He said that the military would now be assisting on border enforcement: โWith your help weโre defending the borders of our country from now on.โ He called โinner citiesโ โa big part of war.โ He said America is โunder invasion from within.โ That cities โthat are run by the radical left Democratsโ are dangerous places and โweโre going to straighten them out one at a timeโ and that โthe people in this room are going to help with that.โ โThey need the military desperately,โ he said of cities with Democratic mayors.
[...]
3. Rules of Engagement
Trump was open about how he wants the military to engage with civilians: He said that โquell[ing] civil disturbancesโ is โgoing to be a big thing for the people in this room.โ He then told a story about gangs of youths in Washington, D.C. who โtreated [soldiers] with disrespect.โ Trump gleefully reported that โthey just got poundedโ by the soldiers.
Today, Dictator Donnie delivered a speech in front of the generals in Quantico alongside Pete Hegseth that was so unhinged and disgraceful to Americaโs traditions.
The Traitor-in-Chief said that heโll have the military fight the โwar from withinโ, meaning that heโll seek to crush dissent against his fascist regime.
See Also:
America, America (Steven Beschloss): Snapshot: "It's a War From Within"
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