Experts in constitutional law and the military say the Insurrection Act gives presidents tremendous power with few restraints. Recent statements by former President Donald Trump raise questions about how he might use it if he wins another term.

Campaigning in Iowa this year, Donald Trump said he was prevented during his presidency from using the military to quell violence in primarily Democratic cities and states.

Calling New York City and Chicago “crime dens,” the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination told his audience, “The next time, I’m not waiting. One of the things I did was let them run it and we’re going to show how bad a job they do,” he said. “Well, we did that. We don’t have to wait any longer.”

Trump has not spelled out precisely how he might use the military during a second term, although he and his advisers have suggested they would have wide latitude to call up units. While deploying the military regularly within the country’s borders would be a departure from tradition, the former president already has signaled an aggressive agenda if he wins, from mass deportations to travel bans imposed on certain Muslim-majority countries.

A law first crafted in the nation’s infancy would give Trump as commander in chief almost unfettered power to do so, military and legal experts said in a series of interviews.

  • @paddirnEnglish
    10•1 year ago

    With a platform like that, it’s just so insane that a person can actually be in the running for President and have a decent chance at winning. I thought his first “platform” was ridiculous enough and trusted my fellow Americans to see through the obvious bullshit, but how is it, 8 years later, he’s upped the crazy and we’re right back in the same spot we were before? Even with his disastrous 4 year term and him basically going full-dictator, and involved in multiple criminal trials. A rabid pitbull should be able to do better than him in the polls.

    • TechyDad
      5•1 year ago

      His followers see him saying “I’m going to use the US military against Americans” and they say “he’s going to use it on OTHER Americans, not me, so it’ll be fine.” Then, when it’s used on them, they’ll act surprised.

      It’s like the story of the woman whose husband was an illegal immigrant. She voted for Trump and then was shocked that he’d deport her husband.