‘Trump’s generals’ say he’s unfit to serve
John Kelly is just the latest former military officer to warn that Donald Trump wants to rule America like a dictator. Other notable officers include:
- Mark Milley (the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who in his fiery retirement speech at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall reminded us that military officers swear an oath to the Constitution, not to “wannabe dictators” like Trump),
- James Mattis (the former Secretary of Defense who called out Trump for dividing the nation), and
- H.R. McMaster (Trump’s former National Security Advisor, who criticized Trump’s admiration for authoritarian leaders).
These military officers aren’t taking issue with Trump’s dystopian rhetoric or his unfair tax policies. No, they’re warning that Trump has all the makings of a dictator, and if given the chance, he’ll rule like one.
Warnings about Trump are falling on deaf ears
The problem is that Kelly and others are coming across like Cassandras. Ironically, the cult-like control Trump wields over the Republican Party is providing him with apprentice training to rule America like a dictator. Simply put, the more military figures sound alarms, the more MAGA Republicans plug their ears. They are walking eyes wide shut down his primrose path to fascism.
Frankly, the most noteworthy thing about these military warnings is that they keep analogizing Trump to Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. But analogies to dead dictators miss the point. Trump keeps telling everyone how much he envies the way living dictators like Putin rules Russia, Xi rules China, and his lover Kim rules North Korea. He wants to rule like them.
These military officers might be more effective if they reminded MAGA loyalists about Trump’s supposed “beautiful” deal with Kim Jong-un. Remember this tweet:
Just landed – a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
Yet, not only did Kim increase his nuclear arsenal during Trump’s presidency, but Trump is now boasting about how big Kim’s arsenal is. He repeated this un-American, surrendering boast at a rally just last night — without a hint of irony, hypocrisy, fear, or shame. Surely nothing could be more dangerous than lying to the American people about nukes. But that episode explains why Kamala warns that dictators would eat Trump for lunch.
Clarion call for coalition to save American democracy
Here’s the rub: MAGA Republicans and even some disaffected Democrats (notably Black men) seem gripped by a morbid curiosity or fatalism. Only that explains them being perfectly willing to watch Trump turn American democracy into a Russian or Chinese-style autocracy — the dangers that portends be damned.
America’s only hope is that enough Never-Trump Republicans and Independents join forces with Democrats to elect Kamala. Make Trump a two-time loser and send him back to Mar-a-Lago, where he can spend four more years whining about the election being stolen — again.
But make no mistake, the fact that Trumpism apes fascism in so many ways says more about MAGA Americans being like German Nazis than it does about Trump being Hitler. So, look in the mirror, America!
