What Trump wants to do to America

More evidence of what Trump has in store for us if he’s reelected.

In November, on Truth Social, Trump congratulated Javier Milei on his election to Argentina’s presidency.

"The whole world was watching!” Trump wrote. “I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!"

Milei got straight to work. He devalued the peso and took other measures, which, while they may make investors happy, and are intended to help the most vulnerable, sent prices spiraling upwards. Unions were among those who were concerned, fearing layoffs, inflation, and salary cuts.

Of course, these major policy changes meant protests were inevitable. They triggered an entire series of threats to freedom from Milei. He announced what commentator David Adler called “a total crackdown on Argentine civil society.” That includes calling on Argentina’s armed forces to break strikes and arrest protestors. The security minister said federal forces would intervene in any protests or street blockades conducted without a permit and the use of force would escalate until streets were cleared.

Like Milei, who he has publicly admired, Trump has a built-in trigger for unleashing unprecedented control on protests in the U.S. They are sure to emerge, as they did during his first term in office if he is reelected. Trump could impose measures akin to those being explored in Argentina, using the Insurrection Act to circumvent legal prohibitions against using the military in the domestic United States.

We discussed this in early November in Frogs Boiled: What Trump is Planning for a Second Term, after the Washington Post reported on some of the specifics of Trump’s plans. They wrote that among the ideas Trump and his allies had floated, were the following:

• Have DOJ investigate former Trump administration officials and allies who have become critics of the former president

• Prosecute DOJ and FBI officials

• Appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” President Biden and his family, based on unsupported allegations of corruption that Trump’s allies in the House are already moving forward with

• End the separation between the White House and DOJ that prevents presidents from using prosecutions as a tool for political advantage or personal revenge

• Draft an executive order to permit the military to be deployed in the United States pursuant to the Insurrection Act. That would permit soldiers to be used against the protests that would be certain to break out if Trump were reelected

That reporting comes into sharper focus as we see Trump cheering on a man who has similar plans in another country. The most important takeaway, for our purposes, from Milei’s efforts to preemptively curb protests is Trump’s approval of them. Does Trump intend to impose the same sort of “order” on civil society here? What follows next? Mass arrests? Suspension of the First Amendment? Full on Gilead?

Yes, it sounds alarmist, but unfortunately, it’s all too real. Trump has a habit of saying the quiet part out loud. He’s doing that here. Are we paying attention? We had better be.

We’re in this together,

Joyce