It is a day ending in the letter “Y,” which, of course, means President Donald Trump is deploying troops into American cities once again, without the consent of local leaders.
This time, Trump is planning on federalizing Oregon and Tennessee’s National Guard troops to be deployed to Portland and Memphis, respectively, according to reporting from National Public Radio (NPR).
It is deeply concerning to see Trump continuously sidestep the elected officials whose responsibility it is to ensure the safety of their community because he thinks he knows better than them.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris told WREG Memphis that he supports a surge of federal law enforcement resources to the city, but said he is opposed to the use of National Guard troops.
“It’s patently illegal. There’s no doubt about it. The Tennessee constitution does not allow the governor to send National Guard troops into Tennessee communities for law enforcement purposes,” he told WREG Memphis in an interview.
Harris is right, and his comments just further reinforce the fact that nobody who actually has a stake in these communities wants these troop deployments.
The real reason why Trump is making moves like this isn’t because he’s genuinely looking out for the safety of those who live in the cities; no, it’s because he wants the suburbanites who go to work in those cities to feel safer by virtue of having a few troops walk up and down the streets aimlessly.
Let us remember that the National Guard’s purpose is not to arrest civilians.
The guard is intentionally distinguished from local law enforcement in that it cannot make arrests unless they are called upon by the state’s governor and granted the authority to do so.
However, when troops are federalized, as Trump is attempting to do now, they are under the authority of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits federal troops from performing local law enforcement functions, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
This is also why we saw troops in Washington, D.C. performing “beautification” tasks, such as cleaning up trash from the streets, as they aren’t allowed to do much outside of that.
What a great use of resources, especially during a government shutdown!
Isn’t it just great how these folks in the suburbs love the concept of having a booming economic urban center in their state, mainly because that’s where all the good food, culture and industry lies, but having one in practice just gives them something to complain and fearmonger about?
The utter detachment from reality seen in those who go to cities out of necessity, then proceed to drive right back to their McMansion just past city limits, is astonishing.
But this troop deployment, like everything in this administration, is purely performative. Whatever makes the Trump base feel as though something is being done is good enough for them.
Fortunately, as of publication, Trump’s action to federalize troops in Oregon has been blocked by a federal judge via a temporary restraining order, according to NBC News.
Though I lose more and more faith in the judiciary each waking day, mainly due to the Supreme Court’s intentional dismantling of its already limited ability to provide checks and balances to the executive branch, it is nice to see many federal judges who still have any legal sense step up to the plate.
However, the soap opera does not end there, as Trump decided his next best bet was to federalize 300 of California’s National Guard troops to be sent to Oregon.
Is there anything that Trump won’t do, at this point, in the interest of riling up his supporters and getting Fox News hits?
Our troops aren’t even being paid right now because of the government shutdown. Mass layoffs may be on the way as the executive branch has become further empowered by the shutdown, too, and yet this is the hill he’s willing to die on: Sending troops from one state to another state, both in spite of the governors’ opposition, as well as the mayor, and to what end?
While I don’t foresee anywhere in New Hampshire being next on the list in terms of deployments, I also don’t exactly have confidence that Gov. Kelly Ayotte would do anything to stop it.
If I had to guess, Ayotte is probably waiting for Trump’s phone call any day now to send troops into Manchester, N.H., or perhaps her native Nashua, N.H.
Our lack of local control doesn’t help either, with mayors and local elected officials particularly disempowered and at the will of what the state wants.
Anyone can see, though, that Trump is intentionally targeting cities that his supporters feel are lawless wastelands: Chicago, LA, Portland, Memphis. These are all cities that you’d see on Fox News every other night because producers found a clip of someone stealing a piece of jewelry one time and they couldn’t help but blast it on your grandpa’s TV set.
Manchester or Nashua don’t exactly fall into the category of “scary big city” for the average American, though. Most probably couldn’t even tell you which state they’re located in.
But just because the deployment of troops to an NH city may be unlikely, it does not mean that we shouldn’t be concerned about it happening elsewhere.
With how things are today, we have no choice but to stay informed and vigilant when it comes to the Trump administration’s actions; there is no other option.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
