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Donald Trump has rebuilt the Department of Defense. Now the loyalists are on top. Washington puzzles Trump’s true motives: One scenario is bleaker than the other.
Donald Trump reappeared in public on Wednesday. For more than a week, the president had been a freak, no public appointments, just the usual Twitter storm. But on Wednesday he stopped by Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to the soldiers on Veterans Day. Serious expression, no mask.
It was a symbolic performance. The quiet cemetery is right next to the Pentagon, which has been in crisis since Monday. Trump had fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and in the days that followed, almost complete civilian leadership from the Pentagon followed. They left or they left, it is often not known for sure.
Surprisingly little is known about this unusual step. When Trump appeared in Arlington with new Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, experts and the military on television were still baffled as to what the president was trying to accomplish. That opens the room for speculation. The president, who still refuses to accept electoral defeat, is possibly planning the coup with the help of the military?
Loyal at the top
Trump has replaced uncomfortable employees with totally loyal ones, that’s clear. Many of them do not have much experience in the work they are about to do, as experts point out with concern. Miller himself was previously director of the National Center Against Terrorism.
The now-shot Mark Esper has long been considered numbered. He had contradicted Trump several times, which he does not appreciate. During street protests against racism and police violence in the summer, Esper refused to allow the military to deploy against protesters. He had also banned the Confederate flag from military buildings. It is a symbol of American racism for liberals, but popular with Trump supporters.
So one of Trump’s motives is obvious: punishment for lack of obedience. Revenge.
It would be typical of Trump. This is not the first time that an objection would suffice to issue a resignation. But just to punish Esper, Trump didn’t have to fire the entire leadership. That is why more motives are being discussed in Washington.
Those are the preparations for the coup?
The darker scenario is that Trump could prepare to stay in power with a coup after losing the election. In order to use the military in the interior, the “Insurrection Law” of 1807 could be activated, against which Esper was blocked. It allows the president to use the military, but only under certain conditions, such as uprisings and rebellions.
Even Trump would find it difficult to interpret the outcome of an election as a rebellion. The resistance inside and outside the military would be enormous – after all, around five million Americans just voted more for Joe Biden than for Trump. Furthermore, there are no voices from Trump’s environment to even suggest such a scenario. On the contrary, there are increasing reports that even Trump is slowly realizing that it is over.
Serious preparation for a coup seems unlikely, if not completely ruled out. Trump doesn’t care about democracy when in doubt, but he places great importance on success. And that would be very questionable.
The cleaning crew
Other discussed scenarios are more promising for Trump. His new supporters at the Pentagon could destroy any incriminating evidence of a tumultuous mandate. In a way, as a cleaning crew. At least that’s an assumption for which, mind you, there is no evidence so far.
Christopher Miller: the new Secretary of Defense. (Source: Patrick Semansky / AP / dpa)
According to the US media, there are indications of another scenario. It has to do with a personality. Douglas Macgregor will in the future be an important adviser to the new Defense Minister. Lately, the former military man has been the main boon on Fox News. Esper supposedly did not want him, and in the meantime, he was up for discussion as ambassador to Germany.
Macgregor is not only loyal to Trump, but has previously openly questioned the US military’s strategy in Afghanistan. He advocated leaving the country “as soon as possible”, a position that other experts consider dangerous because Afghanistan could quickly return to chaos.
Get out of Afghanistan quickly
But that’s exactly Trump’s goal: to get out of Afghanistan quickly. One of his main promises in the 2016 election campaign was to bring the troops home. Even now, he wrote on Twitter before the election: “The few brave men and women still serving in Afghanistan should be home by Christmas.”
How he wanted to achieve this he left open at the time. So far, the US coordinated plan has been to have fewer troops in Afghanistan by the end of November, but still just under 5,000. Ensure an orderly transition. But now Macgregor is supposed to publicize the previous trigger in public, as the American outlet “Axios” learned from three confidants.
It would be a double hit for Trump: He could still keep his promise. And it would create facts that even the next president, Joe Biden, cannot easily return to.
It would be a dubious welcome gift for the newbie.
