I could say lurking in his ego but that wouldn't be kind.
What I am talking about is the imminent threat of a secret group (perhaps) plotting a takeover of the fedrul guvmint (previously known as the federal government.)
What I am talking about is a military coup.
We have heard about it for years, decades even.
The military branch finally has had enough of incompetence at the executive level and takes control to "make things right."
("Right" is not meant here as a perjorative term.)
For decades, we have read, thought about and generally scoffed at that possibility.
But could it be nearer than we think?
The President has just appointed retired Marine General John Kelly as his new Chief of Staff, the office closest to the president, at least in the past.
His National Security Advisor is Army General H.R. McMaster, who is NOT retired from the military.
His Secretary of Defense is retired Marine Corps General James Mattis.
And way down the line but we're just conjecturing here anyway is his Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, a 20 year veteran of the Navy Seals.
Now let me be the first to say it: that's a lot of military heft in the Trump hierarchy.
Granted, it is known that Trump
But I wonder if he's ever read Seven Days in May or seen or understood Dr. Strangelove.
Maybe, like Reince Priebus, I'm just a paranoid schizophrenic but there could be some things to think about there.
The generals are gathering.
Bruce, you know I'm the supreme cynic, but I'm not quite yet ready to think our military is prepared to stage a coup de tete....with the exception of one specific scenario. I believe the Generals are too honor-bound to override civilian rule UNLESS Trump just totally flips out and orders a nuclear strike that the Generals know is just a temper tantrum. In that situation I think they could justify making the immediate decision to stand down an offensive nuclear attack. They could see Trump's orders to be illegal, and they are not required by the Code of Military Justice to carry out an unlawful order. But then I might not be reading my tea leaves right, so who knows. Enjoyed your hypothesis much. And if in fact you're right, I wouldn't fear their rule at all until they could turn it back over to civilians. It might even be a relief.
ReplyDeletethe thing is, though, HE is pulling them together. Not them together against him. Perhaps he fears it though, and that's why he's amassing who he is amassing...
ReplyDeletebut who know what the Mad Orange One thinks. I'd be a billionaire if I could figure that out and pre-empt it.
Yes, this is something to be concerned about, one more thing out of so many.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to say but it makes me think...
ReplyDeleteI tried to think with my half... could it be because they are the only people left President Trump can trust?
DeleteI'm also curious about what happens and who does what when, in a few years, he declares a state of emergency for something and cancel's the election. Or, if he loses, he declares the results invalid and himself president for another term.
ReplyDeleteI also thought of "Seven Days in May" when I heard about Trump's newest appointment! I'd need some comparison to other presidents to see how many military and ex-military people were among their advisors, though. Surely it's not that uncommon to have ex-military types in government. (Not that I'm making any excuses at all for Trump!)
ReplyDeleteMy premise, perhaps not well expressed above, is that the generals would place both Trump and Pence under arrest, send Congress home and lock the doors, and declare martial law. I don't expect any of that to happen but it was fun for me to dream it all up. Satire is not always funny.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of South American countries that one can use as an example....though not entirely applicable. Think Argentina, El Salvador and to an extent Nicaragua. They are smaller, and it's easier done with a more compact country, but it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. I wonder what the reaction of our population would be, now that'd be interesting. 35% would decide it was time to rise in rebellion, all their paranoid fantasies had been realized. What would the governors do, and what would they do with their National Guard. Makes for interesting thinking, Bruce, but as you conclude, not probable.
DeleteI think the general is going to find that running the white house staff isn't going to be a civilized as running the well oiled machine of the military. Personally, I think that Trump needed someone to go with him to the situation room....someone who could understand what was being said and what was going on. My concern would be that I don't think the military minds come up with the best diplomatic answers.
ReplyDeleteDwight Eisenhower, was a general. Not bad. Built all of our interstates. 1950s
DeleteI think one of Ike's great strengths as a president was the ability to take himself out of the military mindset and into a civilian one, but his military background had really honed his skills in such a way that they transferred well to a different kind of leadership. I also think he's probably the last of the great presidents. Once you're forty or fifty years out from the era, it's easier to judge the impact of a leader with the passage of time as to how good they were.
DeleteI like your scenario. If not a coup, perhaps these military advisors can talk sense into Pence or the cabinet and invoke the 25th.
ReplyDeleteI think the generals know that sooner or later, Agent Orange is going to be the author of his own undoing. Best to just sit back and watch it happen. America has survived a lot worse than that excuse for a human being currently in the Oval Office.
ReplyDeleteHadn't considered that particular angle. We must keep pushing, in whatever ways we can.
ReplyDeleteThe state National Guards were put under presidential authority rather than state governors right before Gulf War. Dangerous times.
This military infusion is one step in a documented pattern toward authoritarian governments outlined years ago -- one followed in Europe in 1930s -- also described by David Large 1997 book, Where Ghosts Walked. I've been cautioning about these steps since inauguration and how democracies are lost -- check what happened in Turkey. Very dangerous times.
ReplyDelete