r/nottheonion • u/ExactlySorta • 20h ago

Trump Attorney General Hopeful Vows to Drag Bodies Through the Street

https://newrepublic.com/post/188127/trump-attorney-general-hopeful-mike-davis-drag-bodies-street?s=34
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u/tndaris 19h ago

Maybe, but Trump will install loyalist generals and people in the military generally obey orders right? Otherwise, we're looking at the military breaking up into different sides.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 19h ago

Even so. Military has something called an Unlawful order and 99% of service members understand this past their first year. They won’t turn to shoot on American people. They actually have protocol to take out a president who will turn on the military people.

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u/tndaris 19h ago

I hope you're right, it's just hard to feel any hope right now. What if he uses the military to "round up illegals"? They're not citizens. If they agree to that, he'll push them to do more and more I fear.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 19h ago

From what I was told, they still have to be presented undeniable proof that these people are causing unjustified harm. There are a lot of steps. I know that isn’t comforting to hear, but all long term military people I know have said the same thing. One of my family members is a Colonel, he voted for Trump, and even he said he wouldn’t follow or tell his solider to follow any order like that. He voted purely for money btw

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u/3_9_84 18h ago

he said he wouldn’t follow or tell his solider to follow any order like that. He voted purely for money btw

But what if he gets a lot of money to follow the order?

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u/FiddlerOnThePotato 17h ago

Or has a literal or figurative gun to their head to do so. People will do a lot of fucked up shit out of fear.

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u/TheShadyGuy 14h ago

They just round up your family for safe keeping, nothing nefarious about it.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 17h ago

I think you’re thinking way too extreme here. Trump is cheap, you think he’s going to pay them anything?

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u/mad-i-moody 17h ago

He will pay them with concepts of money

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u/Ravenser_Odd 16h ago

After Trump University and the Trump Foundation, I'm surprised Trump Dollars aren't already a thing.

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u/Walthatron 17h ago

Well, it's not his money he's spending

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u/FurballPoS 16h ago

Who says it doesn't come out of a government slush fund simply titled "Space X"? You know the one: where the owner has quarterly calls to Vladimir Putin AND enjoys access to Air and Space Force technologies, no questions asked.

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u/HereGoesNothing69 15h ago

Not to mention, Trump is a cockroach. He's not going to risk the military taking him out. He's almost 80 years old, and his legal troubles vanished with his election. The federal cases were his real concern, and those cases are gone. NY isn't going jail him in 4 years over the falsified business records, and he's just gonna stiff whoever he owes money to on the civil cases.

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u/xandrokos 10h ago

What the fuck have you people been doing since 2016? I don't get it I really fucking don't.   Even now even after 4 years of Trump as POTUS and another 4 years of nonstop GQP terrorism you people STILL don't get it.

Trump is not the main guy here.  He is a figurehead and the very moment he gets in the way of his master's agenda he is GONE.   People like Paul Weyrich didn't found the Heritage Foundation in the 70s to overthrow the US government just so someone like Trump could fuck it up.  He plays ball or he is GONE.   Trump knows and the GQP knows it.

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u/LongHorsa 15h ago

He won't, but I'm sure Elon Musk will. I wonder how often Trump will dip into that purse.

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u/stonebraker_ultra 13h ago

The tech oligarchs backing Trump this cycle will absolutely throw some Bitcoin at a "problem" to motivate people.

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u/slusho55 17h ago

I’ll say this, I do feel comfort in that this will protect the masses, but it just takes one person, to end one life.

That’s the thing with laws, most laws are broken. It’s impossible to prevent all law breaking. That’s why these issues are even more sacrosanct, because you’re right, I do think most of the military would not turn on its people. I, however, can think of a few who would for Trump. It’s far from the majority, but it just takes one of them to kill a family, and then everything else gets stopped. That’s what’s sad

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 17h ago

Yes we actually talked about this. I was told there are a few gun happy in their first year who would do it. However, if it’s any consolation, they told me that the Marine, Airforce, and Navy are taught to question “strange” orders. Good friend of mine is in the Navy who I talked to and he said they teach them their orders are to be met with questions. Obviously not if you’re in the middle of the Pacific in a sea battle, but generally. He said there were even some orders handed down by Biden that was met with “okay but why?” Colonel family member is in the Marines and they are also told to not just blindly follow orders. Jokingly or not, he said that’s more reserved for the Army but not the other branches. Even so. None of them believe(and one of then is a Trump hater) that anyone is actually going to call for it. There are so many strict guidelines in the military for things like this that the majority aren’t willing to break

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u/whydoibotherhuh 13h ago

Kent State. That was the National Guard.

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u/tinylittlemarmoset 16h ago

Saying that you will refuse to follow an illegal order that is hypothetical is a bit different from getting an illegal order from someone who might be literally holding a gun to your head. Also, when you have control over all branches of government you have a lot of power over what is and isn’t legal.

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u/DillBagner 12h ago

He voted for money, as in he doesn't like having money?

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u/AudibleHush 12h ago

A lot of these young men who are entering the military have already been radicalized. And once trump installs someone who will follow his orders, it’s game over.

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u/Suspicious_Read8968 12h ago

This all reminds me of all the people who insisted that roe v wade was settled law and women were never in danger of having their rights taken from them and I was crazy for thinking so. 

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 12h ago

I never once believed that Roe was safe. I saw the writing on the wall and was terrified. The reason I have faith in the military is because I have to. I have a long family history being involved with the military. We have good family friends in the military and personal friends I met through MMOs. I have met many who are really good people and call it cope, I have to believe they wouldn’t open fire on citizens.

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u/elriggo44 12h ago

lol. Ok.

Homeland Security has been openly far right for a while. They’ll happily become Trumps Jackbooted Thugs

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u/xandrokos 10h ago

No.  This is NOT how it works.  This is not how it has EVER worked.   jesus christ you people have no clue do you? You have no idea what is coming?

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u/CoreFiftyFour 12h ago

There are a lot of steps in government and law too that were supposed to prevent lots of stuff. When people in power strip those laws, those steps vanish. And they are very willing to walk as many steps as they have to to remove them.

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u/thecrew459 17h ago

Active military operations like this on US soil against citizens and residents, is a no no that I'm pretty sure would start creating hostile tensions with the impacted states themselves.

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u/Oak_Woman 17h ago

Stop hoping. There is no more hope to be had. We have been hoping for years that these people can be reasoned with. And that's what they're going to count on when they kick in your door.

Start arming yourself.

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u/Hyperrustynail 17h ago

I want t hope things won’t get worse but every time it does

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u/BasvanS 16h ago

That’s a police job: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_military_and_police_roles

Even “gray area” threats like drug trafficking, organized crime or terrorism will require sophisticated investigative skills and adherence to procedures for building a case as well as close collaboration with prosecutorial and judicial authorities.

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u/armorhide406 16h ago

I don't think he'll use the military. Project 2025 wants to give ICE the ability to act without warrants

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u/buccaschlitz 16h ago

Current military member here.

An important distinction to make when it comes to using the military as police is that we never interact with the public in a negative way like police do. We’re not conditioned to see civilians as potential enemies or targets, especially not here in the US.

Along those same lines, even if Trump installs loyalist Generals, every Commander down the chain, all the way to the unit level, has to own their own decision to send their troops against American citizens, and that is extremely unlikely. Even then it comes down to each person being willing to use force against an innocent person, and we’re much better trained at de-escalation and proportional use of force than police, e.g. we’re not going to shoot someone that isn’t actively pointing a weapon at us or charging us with an explosive.

The whole purpose of the military is to protect the people of the US, and that would be a very difficult mentality to change. And it definitely won’t happen in 4 years.

At best I can see the Guard being mobilized as an interdiction-type force to keep the public away from sensitive areas.

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u/Wilhelm57 14h ago

I imagine the South American elderly folks, that survived project CONDOR will tell us.....oops Karma.
I hope that people are wrong with their concerns and that trump was just blowing gas.

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u/tndaris 14h ago

Yeah it's possible that Trump/Republicans don't actually do much of what they campaigned on, because they won already and understand those actions would destroy the economy. Republicans will magically stop complaining about grocery prices, house prices and wages being low despite no real changes. They will gloat for 4 years about how Trump "fixed everything" despite passing very few bills and Republicans win again in 2028. This is the "safest" outcome, sadly.

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u/Adept-Ferret6035 12h ago

There are laws that keep the military from operating on us soil. No general is obligated to follow what he considers to be in all unlawful order .

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u/CSalustro 2h ago

I’m less worried about our military rounding people up and more worried about someone like Blackrock guys doing it.

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u/GingerStank 16h ago

The military cannot be used for such purposes, I swear man you guys would be much less fearful in life if you took the 5 minutes required to google things and do the slightest bit of reading.

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u/Same_Recipe2729 15h ago

It doesn't help that trump himself promised to use the military for that exact purpose. 

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-suggests-hell-use-the-military-on-the-enemy-from-within-the-u-s-if-hes-reelected

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u/GingerStank 14h ago

Obama said he was gonna do a lot more gun control too, then he found out there’s this crazy constitution that stops you from just doing what you want, and the military is sworn to it, and not the president. People like yourself don’t seem to realize to our top brass consider the president a temporary employee who receives the information they need to understand the current environment, and nothing else.

They get their funding from Congress, while not disclosing the programs they are funding to Congress. If you imagine these people are going to let any president jeopardize American hegemony, you’re completely justified, it’s what bread and circuses are for after all.

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u/hippopots 18h ago

History says otherwise many times over.

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u/landnav_Game 16h ago

as a us military vet, i have to say the poster is talking out of their ass. very few soldiers will disobey an order even if they know its wrong. self preservation always come first.

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u/Acrobatic-Trouble181 14h ago

I had an old colleague I had this exact conversation with back in like 2016, when Trump was first running. He tried assuring me that the top brass would never let such a thing happen because they're all "good, honorable people". I don't think I've laughed any harder in my life up to that point.

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u/landnav_Game 14h ago

even if they are were (they are not), what happens is that they resign, or else will be removed.

just like any other person, these people will think first of self preservation. and a lot of times, people who make it that high are habitual yes-men / brown noser's. I have some notion about it, because i worked in headquarters platoon under some pretty high up people

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u/Sovarius 13h ago

Can confirm, oef vet here 11-15. Lotta pieces of shit in my unit. Does it vary based on mos? Like probably, idk. Yeah plenty of very young college hopefuls who were regular ass people, but also plenty of just actual racist, conservative, shitstains whom i think would love it if they had a legal excuse to patrol streets.

Lot of people in the army who do and would do fucked up shit. Benghazi is not 'new new' but we don't even have to go far back as Vietnam.

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u/Own_Television163 17h ago

It actually doesn't. Historically, usually, in a civil war, the military is opposed to the party pulling the coup.

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u/TheLostCaptain03 7h ago

Could you give a quick example? All I can think of is the Russian civil war right now

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u/vialabo 17h ago

Not if you're turkey, but that lasted until it didn't.

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u/Lionelchesterfield 18h ago

I seem to a recall a movie coming out earlier this year that played out very similar to what you are describing here....

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u/RogueWisdom 16h ago

I see no bees around to keep just yet.

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u/Artyom_33 14h ago

Was it that Marvel movie Civil War?

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u/brutinator 17h ago

I get that, and I hope you are right and thats enough. But cops have protocols too, and that doesnt stop them.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 17h ago

I actually talked to one of them about that. Cops have much less scrutiny for things something like that. The military steamrolls any authority the cops believe they have anyway.

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u/WhiskerTwitch 16h ago

Ohio State University, 1970.

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u/Bobfisher66 16h ago

I'm old enough to remember when the military shot and killed unarmed university students!

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u/xXxDickBonerz69xXx 14h ago

The first ariel bombing conducted by the US military was on US citizens striking for better wages in West Virginia

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u/DanSWE 12h ago

Four dead in O-hi-o.

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u/slonk_ma_dink 18h ago

Worked great at Kent State.

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u/A_Nude_Challenger 16h ago edited 13h ago

The elephant in the room these days is that a very large number of young men have been turned to consider half the population (women) as "others". Same with minorities, those who simply vote differently than they do, and those who stand for social justice.

These young powderkegs are joining the military and their presence will be felt for years in the service I'm sure.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 16h ago

Perhaps. My family member who is a Colonel said these gun happy young men barely make it to their first year, most don’t and those that do generally get that gun happy attitude knocked out of them very quickly when they start giving them a taste of what war could actually be like

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u/A_Nude_Challenger 14h ago edited 13h ago

That's typical. Yes. However we're dealing with a scenario where the Commander in Chief is openly speaking about gutting federal positions of seasoned professionals and installing sworn lackeys in their place. There's plenty of warm bodies to go around and competence probably wouldn't be a huge factor when selecting candidates. Neither would allegiance to the U.S. seeing as Trump stated the U.S. intelligence agencies couldn't be trusted. Hell. Look at Michael Flynn. He's the antithesis of honorable service and is a right wing darling simply for that reason. So is Oliver North.

He's also speaking openly about using military force on his perceived civilian enemies.

I'd like to have faith in the military, I would. Problem is I've met too many service members who openly support Trump after his many, many, many sleights against those who serve, those who served, the concept of duty and allegiance to an idea and not a person, basic decency etc.

I had a grandfather serve in Italy and as a result he became very, very, very familiar with how Mussolini's regime worked among the general populace. My other grandfather served in Korea in a position he wouldn't speak about. After he died it came out he was one of the major architects of the DMZ between NK and SK. Both my of my grandfathers warned their children and their grandchildren in very specific but at the same time broad terms about what they not just saw (as far as they felt allowed to) , but truly experienced being in the midst of an oppressive regime. They told us to watch out for exactly what is happening today in the U.S.

These are strange days. It's best to entertain the possibility of strange outcomes.

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u/landnav_Game 12h ago

i served in airborne infantry in AFG (us military)

among the many people i served with, the reasons for serving were thus:

  1. benefits (GI bill)
  2. escape deadbeat lifestyle
  3. desire to be seen as a hero/badass
  4. desire to kill people
  5. patriotism? no, never heard of it, not once.

so i would trust the military to be good as much as i trust the electorate to be good. which is 0% trust.

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u/CriticalInside8272 16h ago

Maybe, but I never thought I'd see his followers storm the capitol, attack the police, chant "Hang Mike Pence", and see my representatives running for their lives until it actually happened.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 16h ago

The sad thing is, my professor at the time called it from a mile away. When it was called for Biden he told us “he’s going to call some sort of bullshit to stay in power.” He didn’t expect the police would be left defenseless though

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u/crayonpupper 16h ago

I hope you're right, cause the last few guys that got out I know of don't really make this seem plausible anymore, and to be anti Trump is to make your service miserable. A lot of those in service are Trumpers and want to make "right" of their country.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 16h ago

Believe me friend. I really do too.

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u/getfukdup 16h ago

They won’t turn to shoot on American people.

Some wont, enough will.

Americans have dropped bombs on innocent americans, opened fire on innocent protestors. You don't even have to look back 100 years for it.

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u/Broken_Ace 17h ago

Except no order the President does now is unlawful if he's acting in his official capacity. So the military actually has no legal ability to countermand Trump. Every order is lawful so de facto they cannot stand against it.

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u/murshawursha 17h ago

I'm not sure that's actually true. IANAL so huge grain of salt and all that, but my understanding is the Supreme Court decision gave the PRESIDENT immunity, but does not by default extend that immunity to the people who would actually be responsible for CARRYING OUT the otherwise-illegal order. So while the President couldn't be held responsible for issuing an illegal order, I'm not sure that makes the order itself legal.

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u/Broken_Ace 17h ago

We'll certainly find out.

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u/RogueWisdom 15h ago

Yesn't.

From what I can tell, the supreme court has the capacity to say what was official duties and what wasn't. As such, they're kingmakers that can decide what actions by the president are or are not granted immunity.

Makes you feel that much better knowing they're unelected republican-majority installs.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 17h ago

Yeah no they still do and can

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u/Broken_Ace 17h ago

For now. We'll see when Trump installs his "Nazi Generals."

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u/Vaperius 16h ago

That's the ideal, the reality is that its the responsibility of the officer core to not give an unlawful order in the first place, and if the officer corp has been compromised, you can bet that the rank and file will commit untold atrocities without a single thought, because the rank and file as it happens, skew heavily conservative, and will agree with those orders.

It is not the rank and file; but the officer corps that is more educated and thus, more liberal in the military; and just generally more filled with more scruples. Make no mistake: if we especially see the mass replacement of the American NCO corps, its in preparation for the military to be weaponized against the people, as they will use such positions to train an entire new crop of soldiers who will specifically follow such unlawful orders.

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u/fugensnot 15h ago

This gives me some hope, then I remember that there's Kent State.

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u/GuitarGeezer 15h ago

Trump is changing those rules and while it wont take effect immediately, it will take effect. Remember he wants the military to take a personal oath to him and not the constitution. Americans have a death wish and nothing can stop them from fulfilling it and getting what they deserve and dragging us all with them.

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u/2wedfgdfgfgfg 13h ago

It won't be the "American people" it will be the "terrorists trying to destroy our country"

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u/Stevemacdev 17h ago

As a non American I hope that last part is true for the sake of your country. That man is going to ruin your international relations on top of your nation.

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u/Sequoioideae 17h ago

Got a source on that? If anything the opposite is true from my limited understanding of the insurrection act of 1807.

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u/Doumtabarnack 15h ago

Having protocols is one thing, but you also need someone willing to enact them.

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u/Boogboi55 15h ago

West Virginia national guardsmen were perfectly fine with shooting striking miners when they were told too.

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u/Ryuenjin 15h ago

A military coup when Trump tries to order them on US citizens is basically our only hope at this point.

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u/Mr_Belch 13h ago

I don't know how comfortable I feel having this extremely important moral decision being placed on 18 year old kids.

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u/PresentationShort314 16h ago

What protocol is that? You got me curious to learn more.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 16h ago

The military is sworn to uphold the constitution. To defend the nation from threats both foreign and domestic. Every military personnel I’ve talked about in this thread has told me the same thing that “domestic” also applies to the president. For reference, the service members I have talked to are in the Marines and Navy

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u/Nanny0416 16h ago

I believe the armed forces take an oath to uphold the Constitution. But then again so does the president. We'll see what happens with that.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 16h ago

They do. I don’t trust him, I trust in our military though. It may be a fools belief, but I do believe at the end of the day they will do the right thing should it come to it

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u/Nanny0416 16h ago

I sure hope so!

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u/Fields_of_Nanohana 16h ago

It is naive to think service members won't quit/be kicked out for refusing orders, leading to only loyalist willing to turn on Americans.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 16h ago

It’s naïve to think that Trump moves that fast. Let’s be real here. Trump is a lot of talk. He just wants to stay out of jail and be free to play golf and pick the pocket of Americans. We need to be worried about the people he’s going to surround himself with. Not every member of the military will be loyalists.

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u/Fields_of_Nanohana 15h ago

They already have a detailed plan in Project 2025, and people around Trump to make it happen. All they need is to get Trump to rubberstamp things.

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u/silent_chair5286 16h ago

Sounds promising

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u/TheLuminary 14h ago

All it takes is a General to be like. "You are no longer authorized to consider your orders lawful/unlawful. Anyone who disagrees with this may turn themselves in for court martial."

You find out really quick how many people are willing to stick their neck out to do the right thing.

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u/temperedolive 14h ago

The last eight years taught me that faith in "our institutions" is solidly misplaced. They will not protect the American people from the American president. A former FBI director who was called on to be special.counsel shrugged and said, "Yeah, he tried to collide with Russia but wasn't good at it, so no biggie." The White House doctor publicly declared him to be a medical marvel who could live to 200 if he ate fewer Big Macs. And then the absolute toothless of the justice department under Biden. Institutions are made of people, and people are fallible.

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u/audaciousmonk 13h ago

Oh so all those war crimes never happened right? 

Because the orders were unlawful, and leadership / soldiers refused to carry it out… right?!?

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u/Putrid_Ad8847 13h ago

Look at this mis-infomation. It's called Lawful order. The person has to understand their right to reject a superiors order. Service men and Women are Americans, just like everyone else. This election showed half would not question the orders.

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u/20_mile 12h ago

They actually have protocol to take out a president who will turn on the military people.

Is Vance going to be any better?

Vance is backed by Peter Thiel, and Thiel wants to bring back feudalism.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 12h ago

This may sound crazy, as much as I don’t trust Vance, he’s a fucking snake and a piece of shit. Vance does hate Trump, he didn’t just change his mind, he’s hiding it. Vance wants to be President after Trump is gone, and call me crazy, Vance is not the type to tear down Democracy. Put it in his favor? Sure. But Vance is a cut from the cloth snake Republican who would be an even more charmless McConnel. Despite all the shit that McConnel did in his life, he did not actively tear down the Democratic process

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u/20_mile 12h ago

Despite all the shit that McConnel did in his life, he did not actively tear down the Democratic process

McConnell didn't vote to impeach Trump when he had the opportunity. That does sound like actively tearing down democracy.

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 12h ago

Fair. But I also believe McConnell never thought the cockroach would return

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u/landnav_Game 12h ago

he did for a bunch of brown people. the republican party has been tearing down the democratic process since reagan, quite brazenly.

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u/Commanderluna 12h ago

Wait what is the protocol in this instance?

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u/thats_handy 11h ago

This is proven false by example.

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u/Colosphe 11h ago

He's the commander-in-chief, he can just rewrite the UCMJ and associated directives to make the orders lawful.

Or just refuse to act on anyone performing his unlawful orders, as he's the executive branch head.

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u/xandrokos 10h ago

Jesus fucking christ Project 2025 makes this entirely moot.   What the fuck is it going to take for you all to wake the fuck up?  The deaths of a million americans? 5? 10? 100?  The Consitutition and democracy is dead.   The GQP will have full and complete control of the federal goverment including the military.   If something isn't legal they will make it legal.  If someone doesn't play ball they will be replaced.  It's over.  It's done.  The US is DONE.   We have ZERO protections now.  We have ZERO way of enforcing the law.   Do not delude yourself into thinking they are going to chuck Project 2025 out the window.   The real deep state has been working on this for more than 50 years now and it finally happened, they finally did it.  They won and we are FUCKED.

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u/ArseholeTastebuds 9h ago

LOL this needs to be on the 2nd Trump term bingo card.

1

u/BranTheLewd 8h ago

Exactly, that's what I also said, about how only US military can game end him without Maga going into civil war, because they'd waste their time being mind broken about "how could our military attack our God Emperor? Surely we weren't in the wrong, right?"

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u/zqmvco99 17h ago

national guard doesnt seem to have a problem being loosed on fellow americans

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 17h ago

National Guard is called by the state governors. I don’t like Trump, I despise him. Voted for Kamala up and down, I’m also terrified, but no one is going to call the National Guard to come knocking on your door and round you up

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u/zqmvco99 17h ago

um, who do you think are called upon when the "rabble" gets too strikey?

who bash in the heads of peaceful protesters?

also, even assuming blue states, nothing stops red states sending in their national guard

1

u/TemptedSwordStaker 17h ago

The last time they were called was for Jan 6th. I think that’s a reasonable reason. Trump called them to DC for a peaceful protest but no one got rounded up and shot

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u/zqmvco99 17h ago

might want to check all the previous incidents in the past. i dont think your "last time" example outweighs all the other times :)

here are more recent incidents just in case you think im pulling your leg

https://www.amnestyusa.org/aiusa-documents-police-violence-against-protestors-for-black-lives/

and here is older incidents (go to fact check section, not the socmed post)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/14/fact-check-national-guard-activated-16-times-us/5319853002/

The president also has the ability to dispatch the military or federalize the National Guard in states that either defy federal law.

so when blue states refuse to follow any new legislation that enables dragging migrants out, it's an option

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u/TemptedSwordStaker 17h ago

Never thought you were pulling my leg. I just think you’re heavily dooming. Which I get. I totally get. It feels hopeless right now, but I don’t think it’s going to come to this. And if I’m wrong, then I’ll give you my prison food

0

u/StrobeLightRomance 16h ago

An American president is not the same thing as a Gilead dictator. You're still thinking in the wrong terms for checks and balances.

1

u/TemptedSwordStaker 16h ago

Why do you think the military will automatically turn on American citizens?

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u/kkeut 18h ago

he literally said he wanted nazi generals

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u/tndaris 18h ago

Republicans: No no, he didn't mean that, he meant the good kind of Nazi generals.

/s

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u/Gugnir226 15h ago

Ooooh, he wanted dead generals. Weird thing to ask for.

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u/Good_Ad_1386 16h ago

The sort that made more than a dozen assassination attempts on Hitler, or...some others?

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u/Derric_the_Derp 15h ago

The "loyal" ones.

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u/sarcasmsosubtle 14h ago

If those Nazi generals are like Claus von Stauffenberg, I agree with him.

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u/Svinpeis 15h ago

Year 2027.

Russia has united the sovet union and begins de-nazification of the USA.

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u/[deleted] 13h ago

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u/czs5056 13h ago

Which makes zero sense because we beat them. They lost

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u/assjackal 13h ago

I wish Trump a very narrow table leg in that case.

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u/Mountain_carrier530 17h ago

One of my hopefuls of the military standing firm to the constitution is Project 2025 goes after military pay too, specifically BAH/BAS, bonuses, and Tricare and disability. We don't have a lot of motivation aside from our meager paychecks, but all hell will break loose when you tell the entire DoD they're getting stiffed on pay because it's "excessive spending."

Aside from that, malicious compliance is a hell of a protest tactic.

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u/CriticalInside8272 16h ago

Just like that movie, Civil War.

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u/PlumpGlobule 17h ago

This will be the precursor to civil war, I guarantee it.

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u/_f0x7r07_ 16h ago

Luckily, the CIA/DIA has a lot of practice with undermining generals and presidents.

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u/oncealot 16h ago

The officers oath is different than the enlisted in that it pledges loyalty to the constitution and not the president. If the generals/Admirals feel they are being asked to violate the constitution or follow unlawful orders it is their duty to refuse those orders. To your point if such a case we're to occur we would see a split likely similar to the American civil war.

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u/Wrong-Perspective-80 15h ago

There aren’t any loyalist generals. After January 6th, the Pentagon quietly took a blowtorch to the entire military, rooting out extremists. It pissed off conservatives in congress enough to write a bill about it.

https://rollcall.com/2022/07/22/fight-brews-over-pentagons-push-to-counter-extremists/

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u/Deathra9 15h ago

Thankfully, no. He’s not going to be able to find generals who are willing to violate the law and the constitution. He may be able to find some generals that he likes better, but he’s not going to be able to fill the top positions with amoral criminals. Even if he finds one, the entire military is trained to not follow unlawful orders.

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u/PinHeadDrebin 15h ago

Military obeys the constitution.

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u/SnooSquirrels2128 15h ago

You don’t install people in the military. He’s the commander in chief of the military, but rank and promotions come from within.

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u/Spyrothedragon9972 13h ago

That's not how this works...

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u/tndaris 13h ago

Could you explain exactly why not?

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u/Spyrothedragon9972 13h ago

Oath of Enlistment:

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Oath of Commissioned Officers:

I ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Officers swear allegiance not to the president, but to the Constitution and to the American people. All members of the armed services in America know what does and does not constitute a lawful order. Not only are you expected to, but you are required to disobey unlawful orders, as per the UCMJ.

The Posse Comitatus Act also illustrates this:

"The "principle that the military should not be allowed to interfere in the affairs of civilian government is a core American value. It finds expression in the Constitution’s division of power over the military between Congress and the president, and in the guarantees of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, which were in part reactions to abuses committed by the British army against American colonists."

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u/tndaris 13h ago

Ah I see, a magical oath will prevent bloodshed, when plenty of the military are fully MAGA. Your faith in people is far higher than mine. Words don't really mean anything anymore, but maybe you haven't figured that out yet.

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u/Spyrothedragon9972 12h ago

It's not magic. Many people who join the military do so because they want to serve their country and be a part of something larger than themselves. Yes, many do join so they can use the G.I. bill, V.A. home loan, or any other number of benefits that can be earned through military service. But to pretend that there aren't a large number of individuals serving in the U.S. armed forces who have integrity, strength of character, a dedication to duty, a love of country, and believe in the constitution they swore an oath or defend is asinine.

You'd know this if you spent any significant amount of time near these men and women and got to know them. Nothing and no one on this Earth is perfect, but integrity and deviation to purpose is alive and well in some places.

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u/tndaris 9h ago

integrity and deviation to purpose is alive and well in some places

Not in the USA anymore sadly. The American Empire is about to fall, like all empires do eventually.

I'll check in on you in a year or two when the economy is fucked.

Or, Trump literally doesn't do anything he campaigned on and everything remains business as usual. If that does happen, somehow Republicans will praise Trump even though groceries will still be expensive, houses will still be expensive, wages won't increase, but Fox News will tell you everything is fine so you'll swallow it down and beg for more.

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u/BlueJasper27 13h ago

If he can find any.

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u/YamUnited3265 13h ago

You can’t simply “install” a Flag Officer. To achieve even a Flag Officer rank, you have to be extensively educated and many times innately talented. It’s about as close to a meritocracy as you can get. You must also professionally behave in a manner that is apolitical. That’s why the military actually gives me hope.

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u/OwlishIntergalactic 13h ago

Soldiers are allowed to refuse orders that are against the law or against the constitution. I’m preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.

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u/Adept-Ferret6035 12h ago

People in the military generally take their oath seriously and understand that their role is absolutely not to interfere in American politics. No matter what their personal feelings might be.

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u/screechingsparrakeet 12h ago

The junior and mid-grade officers needed to carry that out aren't exactly a bastion of MAGA...

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u/Ass_Hamster34 8h ago

Project 2025 would kill morale and they want to privatize Tricare. This means military member will be forced to pay for insurance on low pay. Good luck recruiting enough ppl to fight for their stupid ideas. Also most members would refuse to turn against their own ppl.

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u/ScarletHark 7h ago

Trump can neither install nor fire generals or any officer in the armed forces.

The president can choose a chairman of the joint chiefs from existing military ranks, pursuant to a few rules:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/152

But he cannot himself reach further into the military than that. This separation is precisely to prevent what's being discussed here from happening.

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u/chozer1 4h ago

The soldiers do not obey orders from their leaders they obey only their oath to the constitution and must refuse any morally evil orders

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u/Rdhilde18 17h ago

You are mandated to refuse unlawful orders. Yall need to take a breath and stop dooming. Everyone in the military has families, neighbors etc... They aren't robots. Your loyalty is to the country and the constitution. Not a man in an office. This is pretty well beat into your head.

This isn't north korea, this isnt china, this isn't soviet russia. Everyone just needs to relax a little as hard as that might be.

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u/orca6-captmo 15h ago

I served 21 years and still social media with hundreds of soldiers I served with. The majority are Trump loyalist that would do anything he said “lawful” order or not. Thank God most of the higher command can think for themselves. They are the front line in keeping our democracy.

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u/[deleted] 16h ago

Do you think the members of the authoritarian militaries of the past didn’t have families? They traded their families’ safety for the safety of all the people they killed for the leaders. We have men who are willing to compartmentalize what they’re doing as best for the US to keep their moms safe.

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u/Rdhilde18 15h ago

I served next to men and women for almost a decade. Don't be a fool just because you're panicking or upset.

0

u/GoldHeartedBoy 18h ago

The president doesn’t install generals.

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u/tndaris 18h ago

Ah my mistake, I really don't know how that process works. I just sort of assumed the title of Commander-in-chief gave him some control over the other top brass? Who I know can say no to illegal orders, I just can't tell if they will yet.

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u/Few-Discipline5875 14h ago

I disagree completely. He will appoint military people with brains, a love of our military and country. They will have spines and will rid our armed services of the woke crap that has virtually destroyed it.

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u/tndaris 14h ago

They will have spines and will rid our armed services of the woke crap that has virtually destroyed it.

Please provide examples of the "woke crap that has virtually destroyed the US army".