Updates
- Originally published, December 18, 2020, 11:44 pm.
- December 19, 1:36 pm:
- There is a new blog post entitled, “A piper needs paying.”
Donald Trump
Hard core Trumpsters and apparently even Donald Trump himself have suggested invoking the Insurrection Act so Trump can remain in office. It wouldn’t be legal[1] but the trick with this sort of thing is that we really aren’t still talking about legality. We’re talking about military force, which depends upon the military and what it does.
It’s worth remembering that the military includes white supremacists who may join to get military training to serve in right-wing militia groups.[2] That doesn’t mean they form an effective critical mass that could alter the course of events.
[It] shows how hard-edged MAGA ideology has become in the wake of Trump’s election loss. . . . It also displays the exalted level to which Trump has been elevated among his most zealous fans as his departure looms.[3]
Clearly, the fun—if one can call it that—isn’t over yet as the Defense Department has now halted meetings with Joe Biden’s transition team. It could just be, as the Pentagon claims, that their side in these meetings needed to get some actual work done and that the meetings will resume after a holiday break,[4] in which case, this might not really be a story. But then again, maybe it is.
Mike Allen and Jonathan Swan, “Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings,” Axios, December 18, 2020, https://www.axios.com/pentagon-biden-transition-briefings-123a9658-4af1-4632-a6e6-770117784d60.html
Tina Nguyen, “MAGA leaders call for the troops to keep Trump in office,” Politico, December 18, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/18/trump-insurrection-act-presidency-447986
- [1]Tina Nguyen, “MAGA leaders call for the troops to keep Trump in office,” Politico, December 18, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/18/trump-insurrection-act-presidency-447986↩
- [2]Lois Beckett, “How the US military has failed to address white supremacy in its ranks,” Guardian, June 24, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/24/us-military-white-supremacy-extremist-plot; Leo Shane, III, “Signs of white supremacy, extremism up again in poll of active-duty troops,” Military Times, February 6, 2020, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/02/06/signs-of-white-supremacy-extremism-up-again-in-poll-of-active-duty-troops/↩
- [3]Tina Nguyen, “MAGA leaders call for the troops to keep Trump in office,” Politico, December 18, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/18/trump-insurrection-act-presidency-447986↩
- [4]Mike Allen and Jonathan Swan, “Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings,” Axios, December 18, 2020, https://www.axios.com/pentagon-biden-transition-briefings-123a9658-4af1-4632-a6e6-770117784d60.html↩