I have expressed skepticism that top officials in the Trump regime would say 'No' if Trump actually gave the order to deploy the military against American citizens, but they reportedly did.
CBS News first reported on Saturday that Trump asked for exactly that last week and those whose duty it would be to carry out those orders opposed him.
In a heated and contentious debate in the Oval Office last Monday morning, President Trump demanded the military put 10,000 active duty troops into the streets immediately, a senior administration official told CBS News. Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley objected to the demand, the official said. [...]
On Wednesday morning, after two nights of peaceful protests, Esper ordered 700 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to return to Fort Bragg, and then delivered a statement in the Pentagon briefing room that he was opposed to using the Insurrection Act to send active-duty troops into the streets.
Esper was saying in public exactly what he had been saying in private to the president, but Mr. Trump was furious with him at a White House meeting later that morning, the official said.
CBS News also reports that the "contentious" meeting at the White House took place right before Trump's photo-op across the street that required the removal of protesters by force.
Several officials, including those above, have said they didn't know what Trump was planning to do and now that makes a little more sense. Trump was angry that they opposed him in private so he embarrassed them in public with that violent stunt. That was his revenge.
It's not entirely comforting to know that the Pentagon is willing to say 'No' given that they had to say anything to begin with. Trump would have done this if they let him. He would have ended the United States as the world knew it.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley addressed a memo to all service chiefs last week that called on them to follow their oaths to the Constitution and now, in hindsight, that suggests to me that Milley was worried that Trump might try to go around him.
Last week was probably the closest we've ever come to dictatorship and hopefully we'll never come that close again.
Barr denied this report during his appearance on "Face the Nation" yesterday morning.