Obama Criticizes Trump’s National Guard Deployment
Former President Obama expressed his discontent with President Trump’s decision to deploy the Illinois National Guard during a conversation with Marc Maron on the “WTF” podcast. He remarked, “If I had sent the National Guard to Texas and said, ‘You know what? Dallas has a lot of problems, a lot of crime, but I don’t care what happens,’” referring to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s stance. His disbelief at how Fox News would react in such a situation was evident.
Obama reminisced about a time when bipartisan support for democracy promotion was common. He chuckled as he noted that both former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, along with him, were proponents of this approach. “It was uncontroversial for me to go to other countries and say, ‘You know what? It’s a good thing to have a military under civilian control,’” he stated, emphasizing that military force against civilians is fundamentally corrupt.
He also conveyed his concerns regarding military deployment on U.S. soil, labeling it a serious challenge to democratic principles due to longstanding laws like the Posse Comitatus Act, which restrict the use of military domestically. “Both Democrats and Republicans understood that,” he mentioned. This, he believes, is an important concept that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Additionally, Obama challenged law firms, universities, and corporations to take a definitive stance in support of the law, academic freedom, and diversity. “If you were a business, you would say, ‘You know what? We think it’s important, because of the nature of this country, to hire people from diverse backgrounds,’” he said, asserting the need to resist external pressures that might dictate hiring practices.
On a related note, Karl Rove, a former White House chief of staff, commented on Fox News’ “Journal Editorial Report,” suggesting that Trump’s National Guard deployment could become a negative issue for him in the future. He referenced recent polls indicating that 58% of Americans believe troop deployment should only occur when there are external threats.
Rove added that while Trump might gain some approval from those worried about crime by taking action, it could ultimately be viewed as a misstep as people question the appropriateness of such measures.
Last Wednesday night, approximately 200 members of the Texas National Guard, along with around 300 from the Illinois National Guard, were reported as deployed to the greater Chicago area, according to updates from the U.S. Northern Command.
