Trump's Most Dangerous Executive Order

Donald Trump has always wanted his own, private muscle — a group of armed men (and you have to think he’d want them to be men) he can deploy to silence his critics, intimidate his enemies, and more generally use the threat of violence to do his bidding. All the strongmen he admires have muscle — Vladimir Putin has the FSB, Recep Erdogan the SADAT, and Viktor Orban the TEK.

This is why, during his first term, Trump often posted threats on social media about the “cops, bikers, and soldiers” ready to wage violence on his behalf. It’s why he couldn’t bring himself to denounce the Proud Boys during the 2020 debates, and it’s why, despite pleas from allies and his own children to denounce the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, he watched the Capitol riot unfold on TV for more than three hours before reluctantly calling off his thugs — but not before telling them he loved them.

It’s against this history that Trump signed an executive order last week titled, “ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO ADDRESS THE CRIME EMERGENCY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA” (the all caps are his, of course). Though the order primarily addresses Trump’s takeover of law enforcement in Washington, there’s also some foreboding language tucked into it ordering Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “ensure the availability of a standing National Guard quick reaction force that shall be resourced, trained, and available for rapid nationwide deployment.”

This force would be “available to assist federal, state, and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-most-dangerous-executive-order-143000726.html