Trump Says He Can Send the Military Into U.S. Cities and “Do Whatever I Want”

The president’s offhand threat to deploy the military at home reveals his growing comfort with authoritarian power.

During an awkward visit to Japan, Trump bragged to U.S. troops, “If we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard.” Yes, you heard that right. Trump thinks he can deploy the military inside the United States like he’s ordering room service at Mar-a-Lago.

Then while aboard Air Force One, Trump doubled down, telling reporters he can deploy any branch of the U.S. military into American cities, insisting that “nobody would get involved” if he did. Nothing says “freedom” like the president casually floating martial law at 30,000 feet.

New York Times reporter Katie Rogers asked if he was referring to other branches of the military. Trump’s response sounded more like a mob boss than a president:

“If I want to enact a certain act, I’m allowed to do it routinely. About 50 percent of presidents have used that, as you know. And I’d be allowed to do whatever I want. The courts wouldn’t get involved, nobody would get involved. I could send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, anybody I wanted.”

As usual, none of what Trump said is true. The president’s power isn’t limitless. The Posse Comitatus Act bars the military from enforcing domestic law without explicit authorization and was written to prevent this exact kind of power grab. And despite what he claims, the courts can absolutely step in. So when Trump talks like he’s above the law, he’s not describing presidential authority, he’s describing himself.

Now, the “certain act” he’s referring to is the Insurrection Act, a centuries-old law that allows a president to deploy troops domestically in rare cases of rebellion or obstruction of federal law. Normally, it’s used when state leaders request help but Trump is trying to use it against state leaders who tell him no.

The Insurrection Act has only been invoked by fifteen presidents across about thirty incidents since 1807. The last time was in 1992, when President George H. W. Bush used it during the Los Angeles riots. So, I’m not sure where Trump pulled “50%” from but it’s probably the same place he gets his crowd sizes and poll numbers.

Trump has already tested the waters of his authoritarian wet dream. He’s sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Memphis, and Washington, D.C., and tried to send them to Portland and Chicago, cities that told him to stay out. When a president ignores local leaders and insists he can send the military wherever he wants, that’s not law and order. That’s dictatorship 101. And remember, this is the same guy who said he’d be a dictator “on day one.” He wasn’t joking.

This also isn’t the first time Trump has flirted with using the military against Americans. During his first term, Trump threatened to send active-duty troops to quell protests after George Floyd’s murder. His own Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, opposed the idea and reminded him the Insurrection Act “should be used only in the most urgent and dire situations.” Esper basically had to explain how the law works to him like you’d explain scissors to a toddler…slow, careful, and just hoping he didn’t hurt anyone.

Unfortunately, people like Esper, Mattis, and Kelly who once tried to rein him in have been pushed out and replaced by loyalists. Trump has surrounded himself with yes-men who agree with everything he says, no matter how reckless or extreme it is.

And now Trump may have found a way around the laws that used to stop him.

A Pentagon directive appears to instruct all 50 states and U.S. territories to create “quick reaction forces” trained for riot control, including the use of batons, shields, tasers, and pepper spray. The directive, signed by Maj. Gen. Ronald Burkett, was issued under Trump’s August executive order and calls for 23,500 National Guard troops to be trained and ready for deployment by January 2026.

By ordering every state’s National Guard to form federally controlled “quick reaction forces,” Trump has found a way to potentially sidestep the law without changing it, turning them into a force ready to serve him, not their states.

When a president uses the military against his own people, that’s not strength. That’s authoritarianism, you know, the thing MAGA won’t shut up about but can’t seem to recognize when it’s their guy doing it.

Trump’s not floating an idea anymore; he’s laying out a plan. And when he talks about using the military at home, it’s not “if,” it’s “when.” The only question left is who’s willing to follow the order and who’s finally willing to say no.