Senior Democrats in US cities are preparing to defend their communities in the event of Donald Trump’s return to the White House after the former president has repeated threats that he would use presidential powers to seize control of major urban centers.

Trump has proposed deploying the military inside major cities largely run by Democrats to deal with protesters or to crush criminal gangs. He has threatened to dispatch large numbers of federal immigration agents to carry out mass deportations of undocumented people in so-called “sanctuary” cities.

He also aims to obliterate the progressive criminal justice policies of left-leaning prosecutors.

“In cities where there has been a complete breakdown of law and order … I will not hesitate to send in federal assets including the national guard until safety is restored,” Trump says in the campaign platform for his bid to become the 47th US president, Agenda47.

Trump provoked uproar earlier this week when he called for US armed forces to be deployed against his political rivals – “the enemy within” – on election day next month. But his plans to use national guard troops and military personnel as a means to attack those he sees as his opponents go much wider than that, spanning entire cities with Democratic leadership.

  • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    I’m saying that Trump will pare down the military until the only people left are supporters, which will be a disturbingly high number of people, including officers.

    They won’t all quit to join his new paramilitary group, he’ll turn the military itself into his own paramilitary group. Starting with purges, and then promotions for lackies.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      Purges take years. If they go the traditional route then it won’t be ready for 2028 and the riots that result from him running for a third term.

      • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        Purges can be very fast, especially in today’s climate.

        Also, the Heritage foundation has been working on lists for years now.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          26 days ago

          They had lists in the past too. The heritage foundation are bad people but they are still people, and they cannot change things with a magic wand.

          • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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            25 days ago

            Just go read Project 2025.

            A Trump win, is the end of democracy, and that 900-page document gives the full blueprint on how to kill American Democracy.

            As a note here, the idea of just replacing most of the federal government with political appointees is actually quite new.

            There used to be lists for appointees, Judges being the main push, but now that the Federalist Society controls the judiciary, the protections are gone, and another Trump presidency would be the end.

            • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              25 days ago

              I’m not contesting that. Project 2025 has big goals that I don’t like. But just because someone writes, “fire all the soldiers”, doesn’t mean it’s that easy.