Trump's Latest Threat to Democracy
Season two, episode six plot twist: cleaning up crime-ridden cities = fascism
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Quick housekeeping note: I recently learned that Substack rewards posts that get lots of likes with greater visibility. I know that thousands of subscribers read my posts… so if you enjoy this one, would you—could you—kindly hit the little heart on your way out the door? Or anytime, really? TIA. ;)
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Whelp, POTUS did it again. In his speech to the world’s top military brass at Marine Corps Base Quantico last week, Trump trotted out the wildly unpopular “enemy within” trope—the one that’s undeniably true (consider prosecutors who refuse to prosecute, cartels running supply chains, election loopholes wide enough to drive a bus through, and schools pushing Marxist programming) but nevertheless sends liberals reaching for their limited edition Dammit Dolls.
“Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia, while America is under invasion from within,” Trump stated. “We’re under invasion from within, no different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms. At least when they’re wearing a uniform, you can take them out. These people don’t have uniforms. But we are under invasion from within.”
In a particularly unhinged essay published in the far-left blogosphere relic CounterPunch, TDS-sufferer Paul Street (author of This Happened Here: Amerikaners, Neoliberals, and the Trumping of America, because of course he is) lost his mind over “Mein Trumpf’s” reference to violence perpetrated by “inner-city animals.”
“This baseless claim reflects Trump’s virulent anti-Black racism, forged in the 1960s. Let’s be clear about who Donald ‘They’re Eating the Dogs and Cats’ Trump means by ‘animals’ in ‘our inner cities’: Black ghetto residents.”
To be clear, Trump didn’t utter a word about race. What’s even more pertinent is that the vast majority of inner-city dwellers in the U.S. are white (51%). Blacks only make up 22 percent—not that facts ever slowed a narrative. So when Street insists he knows “what Donald Trump means,” what he’s actually revealing is what he really thinks of Black Americans. That’s not moral insight—it’s Freudian racism in real time.
Yesterday, in an equally indignant rant over at Bluesky’s unmedicated cousin, AlterNet, retired journalist D. Earl Stephens (author of Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters, because of course he is) declared that Trump’s recent comments about deploying the National Guard in high-crime cities were—wait for it—“the most toxic, anti-American speech ever given by a sitting president.”
Really? More toxic than “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black”? More anti-American than cutting military funding while expanding foreign aid to nations chanting “Death to America?” Mkay.
“By words and by deed it is clear as day that Trump has absolutely no respect for the country he violently assaulted, nor our men and women who wear the uniform, because like any authoritarian leader he sees them as servants to him, and not our country,” Stephens huffed.
Stephens is practically short-circuiting over the idea that maybe—just maybe—we shouldn’t have to step over fentanyl zombies and outrun carjackers on the way to Whole Foods. He insists Trump is plotting to “use our military to attack us.” Who is us? The law-abiding citizens who’d like to stop getting mugged before brunch?
Imagine you work at a store that gets robbed daily—and then getting angry when the owner hires a security guard to catch the thieves. This is deranged logic of progressive politics. We’ve opened our borders to criminals, gutted police departments, turned shoplifting and squatting and destruction of property into misdemeanor hobbies, and watched major cities crumble under violence and theft. But when someone finally says, “This has gotten out of control,” the Left screams “fascist!”
What exactly would you propose, D. Earl? Send in the Girl Scouts? Enlist a peaceful band of joyful warriors? Give the criminals a timeout and a feelings journal?
Fascism is when the government uses force to suppress dissent, punish political opponents, or terrorize law-abiding citizens into submission. Deploying troops to stop looting, arson, and chaos in the streets is literally the inverse of that—it’s protecting citizens from mob rule, not enforcing it. Doing nothing while innocent people are beaten, businesses burned, and neighborhoods overrun would be negligence. A government’s first duty is to maintain order and ensure safety—not watch cities burn in the name of “tolerance.”
Trump didn’t say he wanted to “attack Americans.” He said he wanted to use our armed forces to restore order—in cities that have effectively surrendered it. That’s not fascism, Mr. Stephens, it’s leadership. (I know, you haven’t seen it in a while so it may be difficult to recognize.)
To hear Stephens tell it, you’d think POTUS was planning to parachute into Chicago with a flamethrower yelling, “I AM YOUR COMMANDER NOW!”
I think somebody might need to get his meds checked.
Ironically—but not surprisingly—the same people who were speed-dialing the National Guard to “protect democracy” on January 6 and to restore order after the violent George Floyd riots now think it’s authoritarian to send troops into places where kids can’t even play outside. Make it make sense.
Stephens closes his meltdown by urging readers to “contact your nearest military base” to complain about Trump’s “unbecoming conduct.” That is his literal call-to-action; his Big, Beautiful Plan to stop tyranny in its tracks: ring up Fort Hood and explain you’d like to speak with the commanding officer about your unresolved trauma.
Imagine the call:
“Hi, yes, I’m very concerned that the President of the United States is trying to defend my city. What exactly do you plan to do about that?”
Trump has not proposed putting tanks in Times Square. No one is suggesting rounding up protestors into FEMA camps. Not a soul mentioned making The Apprentice required viewing in schools. We’re talking about restoring order in places that look like Mad Max: Urban Decay Edition.
If that’s “using the military against us,” then sign me up.
Tell me how you voted and why (and what you think of these “opinion” pieces)!
I have connections to several people in retired military circles (don’t ask why). Subject: Hegseth / Trump speeches to the Generals: Quick poll of officers I know 25% opposed (usual TDS crowd by the way), 25% favor, 50% ‘no comment’. Sergeants 100% “It’s about f****** time! Let’s roll.”
The crazy part is that these are not stupid people. Highly educated and worldly.
But somehow, they look at something yellow and tell us it's purple.
Crazy how this complete lack of insight occurs with these people. And it's horribly effective with the masses (owning the MSM facilitates it, obviously).
That's been the most successful part of progressivism.