During his first term as president, tested the limits of how he could use the military to achieve policy goals. If given a second term, the Republican and his allies are preparing to go much further, reimagining the military as an .
He has pledged to recall thousands of American troops from overseas and station them at the U.S. border with Mexico. He has explored using and confronting civil unrest. He has talked of weeding out military officers who are ideologically opposed to him.
Trump91裸聊视频檚 vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the role of the military in U.S. society, carrying grave implications for both the country91裸聊视频檚 place in the world and the restraints that have traditionally been placed on domestic use of the military.
As Trump91裸聊视频檚 campaign heads into its final stretch against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, he is promising forceful action against immigrants who do not have permanent legal status. on Friday, the Republican described the city of Aurora as a 91裸聊视频渨ar zone91裸聊视频� controlled by Venezuelan gangs, even though authorities say that was , and the area is safe again.
91裸聊视频淚 will rescue Aurora and every town that has been invaded and conquered,91裸聊视频� Trump said at the rally. 91裸聊视频淲e will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them out of our country.91裸聊视频�
In an interview aired Sunday on Fox News Channel, Trump was asked about the potential of 91裸聊视频渙utside agitators91裸聊视频� disrupting Election Day and he then pivoted to what he called 91裸聊视频渢he enemy from within.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚 think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,91裸聊视频� Trump said. He added: 91裸聊视频淲e have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they91裸聊视频檙e the big 91裸聊视频� and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can91裸聊视频檛 let that happen.91裸聊视频�
Trump has repeatedly invoked the phrase 91裸聊视频渆nemy from within91裸聊视频� in recent speeches. On Saturday, he used it to refer to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a prominent Trump critic who oversaw the congressional investigation that led to Trump91裸聊视频檚 first impeachment. Schiff is now running for the Senate.
The former president and his advisers are developing plans to shift the military91裸聊视频檚 priorities and resources, even at a time when wars are raging in Europe and the Middle East. Trump91裸聊视频檚 top priority in his platform, known as , is to implement hardline measures at the U.S.-Mexico border by 91裸聊视频渕oving thousands of troops currently stationed overseas91裸聊视频� to that border. He is also pledging to 91裸聊视频渄eclare war91裸聊视频� on cartels and deploy the Navy in a blockade that would board and inspect ships for fentanyl.
Trump also has said he will use the National Guard and possibly the military as part of the operation to deport millions of immigrants who do not have permanent legal status.
While Trump91裸聊视频檚 campaign declined to discuss the details of those plans, including how many troops he would shift from overseas assignments to the border, his allies are not shy about casting the operation as a sweeping mission that would use the most powerful tools of the federal government in new and dramatic ways.
91裸聊视频淭here could be an alliance of the Justice Department, Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. Those three departments have to be coordinated in a way that maybe has never been done before,91裸聊视频� said Ron Vitiello, who worked as the acting director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement under Trump.
While both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations have long used military resources at the border, the plans would be a striking escalation of the military91裸聊视频檚 involvement in domestic policy.
Advocates for human rights and civil liberties have grown alarmed.
91裸聊视频淭hey are promising to use the military to do mass raids of American families at a scale that harkens back to some of the worst things our country has done,91裸聊视频� said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, an immigration advocacy organization.
In Congress, which has the power to restrict the use of military force through funding and other authorizations, Republicans are largely on board with Trump91裸聊视频檚 plans.
91裸聊视频淭he reason I support Donald Trump is he will secure the border on Day 1. Now that could be misinterpreted as being a dictator. No, he91裸聊视频檚 got to secure the border,91裸聊视频� said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Many Republicans argue that reflects reality and points to the need for military action.
91裸聊视频淭here is a case that this is an invasion,91裸聊视频� said North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. 91裸聊视频淵ou look at 10 million people, many of which are not here for a better future, and, unfortunately, it91裸聊视频檚 made it necessary. This is a problem that the Biden administration and Harris administration have created.91裸聊视频�
Still, Trump91裸聊视频檚 plans to move military assets from abroad could further inflame tension within the GOP between those hawkish on foreign policy and Republicans who promote Trump91裸聊视频檚 brand of 91裸聊视频淎merica First91裸聊视频� isolationism.
Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, insisted Trump would not move active-duty troops to the border, even though Trump91裸聊视频檚 platform clearly states he would.
In the Senate, where more traditional Republicans still hold sway, Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, issued a statement encouraging the Department of Defense to assist with border security, but adding that the effort 91裸聊视频渘eeds to be led by the Department of Homeland Security.91裸聊视频�
Trump91裸聊视频檚 designs for the military may not stop at the border.
As Trump completes a campaign marked by serious threats to his life, his aides already made an to transport him amid growing concerns over .
During his first term while riots and protests against police brutality roiled the nation, Trump also military personnel. Top military officers, such as then- , including issuing a memo that stressed that every member of the military 91裸聊视频渟wears an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the values embedded within it.91裸聊视频�
Trump91裸聊视频檚 potential actions would likely require him to invoke wartime or emergency powers, such as carrying out , a 1798 law, or , an 1807 law that allows a president to deploy the military domestically and against U.S. citizens. It was last used by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 during rioting in Los Angeles after police officers beat the Black motorist Rodney King.
Ahead of a potential second term for Trump, Democrats in Congress tried to update presidential powers like the Insurrection Act but found little success.
That91裸聊视频檚 left them instead issuing dire warnings that Trump now has fewer guardrails on how he could use the military. He has shown an ability to bend institutions to his goals, from a Supreme Court willing to reconsider long-standing interpretations of presidential powers to a military scrubbed of officers and leaders likely to push back on his plans.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who introduced legislation to update the Insurrection Act, said the plans 91裸聊视频渋lluminate Donald Trump91裸聊视频檚 total misunderstanding of the United States military as a force for national defense, not for his personal preferences to demagogue an issue.91裸聊视频�
But Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, underscored how many in his party have grown comfortable with deploying the military to confront illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
91裸聊视频淲hatever fixes the border, I think we91裸聊视频檙e OK with,91裸聊视频� he said.
