President Donald Trump has responded to days of protests against police brutality that have unfolded around the country by calling for more brutality against the protesters. He’s repeatedly threatened to send active-duty members of the military into the streets of the U.S. to confront the protesters, the vast majority of whom are entirely peaceful, but it’s unclear what if any legal authority actually exists under which the president could do so. He seems to have come up with the proposal without considering legal ramifications. This week, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) revealed a letter in which top General Mark Milley, who serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted that soldiers would never obey an illegal order from the president.
Previously, Gallego — who is himself a veteran — had sent Milley a short letter in which he asked the blunt question of whether the general “[intends] to obey illegal orders from the president”. Milley has now responded, insisting that he would “absolutely not” obey an illegal order from Trump. In his response letter, the top general explained:
‘My bottom line response to the question in your June 1, 2020 letter is ‘absolutely not.’ I testified at my Senate confirmation hearing that any soldier, sailor, airman or marine, regardless of rank, including myself, will not obey an illegal order. I have personally abided by this standard since my commissioning 40 years ago — and I will not change now.’
American servicemembers must never obey an illegal order. Presidents should know not to issue them. pic.twitter.com/FEeJyLfPhX
— Ruben Gallego (@RepRubenGallego) June 8, 2020
For now, the issue seems to have temporarily become less acutely pressing, because Trump has temporarily backed off his threat to send troops into U.S. cities — although his team did already dispatch an array of law enforcement and military personnel into the streets of Washington, D.C. At one point, a National Guard helicopter even conducted a “show of force” targeting protesters in which the chopper flew barely 100 feet above the targeted individuals. The tactic is ordinarily used on battlefields.
The president has attracted widespread condemnation for his response to the protests in D.C. in particular, where peaceful protesters were recently attacked by cops shortly before Trump held a photo op at a nearby church. Retired General James Mattis, who served as a Defense Secretary in the Trump administration, characterized the president as a threat to the Constitution.
Check out Twitter’s response to Milley’s new letter below:
President Donald Trump is failing to consolidate even the support of his own political party heading into the general election this November. The anti-Trump Republicans behind the group known as The Lincoln Project have now come out with a hard-hitting new video ad against the president that spotlights how many Americans have united against his regime. As the ad outlines, Trump infamously claimed that his 2017 inauguration was spectacularly attended — although actual attendance was definitely not some kind of astronomical number — but in recent days, huge numbers of Americans have, in fact, turned out to the streets of D.C. — and they’ve been there to protest.
In the new Lincoln Project ad, a narrator observes:
‘It took almost four years for Trump to get the crowds he wanted. After years of Donald Trump’s divisiveness and discord, America is coming together.’
The ad then cuts to scenes of huge protests in cities including New York, Denver, Portland, and Washington, D.C.
The narrator continues:
‘This year, we have a choice to make: America, or Trump. Imagine how big the crowds will be when he’s gone. A new day begins on November 3rd.’
Check out the ad below:
📺 @realDonaldTrump, the American people are speaking directly to you with a simple message: it’s time to start packing your bags. pic.twitter.com/6MMrA2c8L4
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) June 9, 2020
The recent wave of protests that have rocked the United States were sparked by yet another instance of violent police brutality in which Minneapolis cops murdered a black man named George Floyd. The ensuing demonstrations have provided a catalyst for American outrage at much of the wider, concurrent injustice, much of which Donald Trump himself has helped exacerbate. He’s spent his time in office handing tax breaks to his rich friends and quite literally profiting off the presidency thanks to the repeated government usage of his own properties — and that’s about it.
Asked recently whether the president supports the core message of the Black Lives Matter movement — which is, quite simply, that black lives matter and need protection — White
House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany refused to directly answer the question. Instead, she bragged about Trump having received about 8 percent of the votes from black Americans in 2016, as if that’s a good total.
Trump lost 92% of the black vote. But things are so bad at the @WhiteHouse that in their bubble Trump officials think this is a positive talking point. https://t.co/rYNJUOJcWw
— Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower) June 9, 2020