By Jim Hᴏft
Concerns are intensifying among far-left national security “experts” and Pentagon insiders over the possibility that former President Donald Trump might leverage the U.S. military to enforce his political will if he returns to the Oval Office.
In a detailed report, NBC News inadvertently admitted the existence of a “Deep State,” allegedly working to facilitate a military coup against former President Trump if he is freely and fairly elected by Americans.
The NBC article paints a portrait of a left-wing plot to disrupt military allegiance to civilian control.
Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist wrote, “NBC reports the left is plotting ways to have military not be under civilian control. This dangerous and unconstitutional usurpation of power is being framed by NBC as good because it will undermine Trump if he is freely and fairly elected by Americans.”
“Civilian control of the military is part of the bedrock foundation of American democracy. The democratic project is not threatened by the existence of a powerful standing military so long as civilian and military leaders — and the rank-and-file they lead — embrace and implement effective civilian control,” according to War on the Rocks.
“Civilian control is exercised within the executive branch for operational orders by the chain of command, which runs from the president to the civilian secretary of defense to the combatant commanders.”
Now, there is a concerted effort by a coalition of public interest groups and lawmakers to anticipate and thwart any attempts to “misuse” presidential powers.
This includes closely monitoring Trump’s policy statements and the interviews given by his allies to gauge the direction of a potential second Trump administration.
Key players in this preemptive effort include Democracy Forward and Protect Democracy, far-left organizations with histories of challenging Trump’s administration in court.
They are preparing for legal battles and seeking to build alliances to counteract any abuses of power from day one.
NBC News reports:
Donald Trump is sparking fears among those who understand the inner workings of the Pentagon that he would convert the nonpartisan U.S. military into the muscular arm of his political agenda as he makes comments about dictatorship and devalues the checks and balances that underpin the nation’s two-century-old democracy.
A circle of appointees independent of Trump’s political operation steered him away from ideas that would have pushed the limits of presidential power in his last term, according to books they’ve written and testimony given to Congress. Most were gone by the end. In a new term, many former officials worry that Trump would instead surround himself with loyalists unwilling to say no.
Trump has raised fresh questions about his intentions if he regains power by putting forward a legal theory that a president would be free to do nearly anything with impunity — including assassinate political rivals — so long as Congress can’t muster the votes to impeach him and throw him out of office.
Now, bracing for Trump’s potential return, a loose-knit network of public interest groups and lawmakers is quietly devising plans to try to foil any efforts to expand presidential power, which could include pressuring the military to cater to his political needs.
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Those taking part in the effort told NBC News they are studying Trump’s past actions and 2024 policy positions so that they will be ready if he wins in November. That involves preparing to take legal action and send letters to Trump appointees spelling out consequences they’d face if they undermine constitutional norms.
Critics argue that preemptive measures to curtail such use are tantamount to unconstitutional acts and may pave the way for a “military coup” to subvert the will of the American people.
The core of the argument from detractors of the NBC report is that there is an orchestrated effort by the Deep State to undermine Trump’s authority, which would be legally and democratically conferred upon him should he win 2024 election.
Americans fear that the actions described in the NBC report are not safeguards of democracy but are moves to dismantle it.