Military Tradition Saved American Democracy From Trump

Trump wanted to be president-for-life. In so many words, our military said “no”.

Imagine what it must be like, to be in command of the mightiest military force in human history, and to have a real opportunity to take control of the most powerful nation on the planet if one so desired.

More importantly, given such a temptation, imagine what it must be like to choose not to do so.

America’s military has roughly 600 total generals and admirals on active duty, but the hierarchical nature of the military means only a relative handful controls the rest. The Posse Comitatus Act notwithstanding, the Joint Chiefs of Staff could, if they so desired, combine forces to seize control of the nation at the behest of a sitting president or, for that matter, at their own command. This is probably what lay behind President* Trump’s repeated efforts to ingratiate himself to the military by doing what he thought the military wanted. Among other things, Trump:

• chose generals to serve in his cabinet,
• demanded a military parade in Washington D.C.,
• banned transgender men and women from serving,
• and pardoned a SEAL convicted for crimes committed during deployment.