The Enemy Within
Trump tells generals to use Democrat-led cities as “training grounds” on heels of ordering FBI to broadly investigate political opponents
More than ever before, President Trump is testing how far he can go to amass more power and silence his critics.
Today, at a gathering of top military brass initiated by Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, Trump repeatedly told America’s generals and admirals that the armed forces should be focused on rooting out “the enemy within.”
“Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia while America is under invasion from within. We’re under invasion from within. No different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms. At least when they are wearing a uniform, you can take them out. These people don’t have uniforms, but we are under invasion from within.” — Trump
“We haven’t even started yet”
When Trump first began deploying the national guard in Washington, DC, he said he was focusing on crime. Today, he spoke of a sweeping new mission for our armed forces, telling generals they will be called on to quell civil disturbances and “handle” the enemy from within.
“We haven’t even started yet. Last month I signed an executive order to provide training for a quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances. This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room because it’s the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control. It won’t get out of control. Once you’re involved at all.” — Trump
Trump emphasized that he sees this war in partisan political terms, criticizing “radical left Democrats” in charge of cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Portland.
“We’re going to straighten them out one by one, and this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That’s a war too. It’s a war from within.” — Trump
And, as shown in the video clip at the start of this post (and available here), Trump told the generals that he sees Democratic-run cities as military training grounds.
“I told Peter we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military. National guard, but military.”
Trump’s ‘enemy within’ memo
Trump’s speech to the military brass today is especially alarming in light of a little-noticed but incredibly dangerous Presidential Memorandum issued on September 25. This memo weaponizes the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute political opponents.
This memo completes the puzzle, revealing who Trump views as the enemy within. The list is chilling, and includes anyone that law enforcement views as showing:
“anti-Americanism”
“hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”
“extremism on migration, race, and gender,”
“anti-Christianity” and
“anti-capitalism”
The irony, of course, is that nothing is more “anti-American” than allowing law enforcement to become literal ‘thought police,’ potentially grabbing Americans off the streets because of their views.
If you do one thing, read Trump’s memo in its entirety.
Fortunately, the Enemy Within Memo does not override our constitutional and legal protections as Americans. It does, however, order the FBI to investigate, interrogate, and networks and organizations that “disrupt the functioning of a democratic society,” which could be interpreted by law enforcement as pretty much anything.
The law may protect people in the end, but that is unlikely to stop this administration from kicking in doors, detaining people for interrogation, seizing records, and intimidating people and organizations with the prospect of expensive legal bills.
First they came for immigrant families. This is how they come for the rest of us.
The true enemy: silence
The enemy that we should all fear is the temptation of silence that emboldens tyranny.
Trump knows that people are scared, which is what he wants. He had this to say today when speaking of his critics:
“[T]hey’re sort of giving up. I must be honest with you. They’ve had it” — Trump
Most, if not all, of us hold commonly shared American values centered on the freedom to be who we want to be. That’s true whether you love Donald Trump or hate him—or fall somewhere in between.
Nevertheless, we are pushed by one party or another—this social media echo chamber or that cable news silo—to distrust each other and to overreact to the news of the hour. All of this makes it hard to sort out what matters from the vitriol and noise.
This is the time to be our better selves and focus on what matters.
It’s time to set aside the politics of the moment to think about the country we want our kids and grandkids to live in, regardless of which political party is in control.
If the government persecutes people based on their gender identity today, what’s to stop the government from persecuting anyone based on religious choices tomorrow?
If the government can put federal troops in the street with unbridled powers, how can we have fair and free elections?
We cannot be silent, and we must not be the first generation of Americans who leave our nation less free than generations beforehand.