I was wondering if the reason that administration wants to keep the guard in DC is because they’re worried about future protests and unrest against them. They want armed military on the ground in case they have to put down a “rebellion.“ Like if they try to steal the midterms, or 2028.
Is it not obvious? The troops are patrolling the political areas around the Mall. They're not over in Anacostia, Northwest, etc. They are basically staged to protect the regime if needed.
That’s a really rude comment. I was in the National Guard and I and many of the other people I knew in the Military are horrified by the lawlessness of the Trump administration. The military draws people from all groups. A really high percentage of them are men and women of color looking for economic and educational opportunities that’s not available otherwise.
Which is why I joined. To pay for college. These aren’t a bunch of proud boys. That’s a fantasy Hegseth is creating. But there is military discipline. And it might be used to twist things and results.
I have many former Guard friends, some who served regular military when I did in late 60s and early 70s, and then Guarded up after 9/11, others who went in the Guard in the 60s and 70s, a couple who stayed 20 and 40 years.
The comment may be taken as rude, but it's still accurate, with plenty of exceptions.
I don't think that the military being more conservative than the rest of the country is true. Of course, lots of people have done studies on this, and if you search the Internet, the articles I read say it actually skews less conservative.
Check out Ira Katznelson’s When Affirmative Action was White. I'm pretty sure it's in that book that he talks about how diversity in the military played a significant role in making the military less conservative with less tendency toward white supremacy. Of course Hegseth is trying to change that
For the benefit of those of us who cannot finance wapo's (and other's) paywall, please avoid using links that require subscription, etc., to read, such as the link to hegseth's malfeasance.
In typical trump fashion, what we have here is a vote-buying and favorability-buying scam. Trump hates ‘welfare’ so what does he do when his garbage brain cooks-up every conceivable way, including tariffs, and wars, and monuments to himself, and a $1.8b slush fund to distribute to do with what he wishes — and thereby raises the cost of living for middle class Americans? In amidst his endless self-enriching and self-serving grift and corruption, he pays tens of thousands of Nat’l Guard troops to walk around DC chatting with one another and checking their step-counting apps. This is purely a subsidy for these mostly young citizens to buy favorability and votes. He bypasses Congress in providing these subsidies to large numbers of favored Americans, just like he’s doing with the salaries and signing bonuses for ICE recruits and many others who he wants available as his personal militia when he needs them.
I have seen plenty of National Guard members in DC around DuPont Circle. Not one of them has been armed, interestingly. I wonder what percentage have firearms.
Also, the poll cited asked this question: "Q: Do you support or oppose Trump ordering the federal government to take control of Washington, D.C.’s police department and ordering the National Guard and FBI to patrol D.C?" I'd be curious what the public response would be today if they were asked, "Do you support or oppose National Guard personnel patrolling the streets of DC?"
Excellent questions. It's unclear to me how the JTF is (either formally or informally) differentiating patrol activity as between different parts of the District, with respect to sidearms and other orders. I haven't seen anyone dig into that particular issue. And as to the polling, I'm curious about your intuition -- do you think support for that hypothetical question today would poll higher or lower?
I think the poll question as originally asked was loaded in a couple senses. It was asking about three different entities (national Guard, Cops, and FBI) and it had charged language: "to take control of Washington, D.C.’s police department". I don't know if the poll responses would be different, but I suspect it might be a little less hostile---due to the National Guard thus far not living up to the fear of some residents. (E.g., 'They are Gestapo;... ;They are going to end up killing civilians...')
That might be right. On the other hand, there had been virtually zero incidents of NG misconduct over the first ~9 months of the mission, but starting in late spring / early summer, and as the summer "surge" ramped up, we started seeing more tense, and in some cases quite physical, encounters between NG and civilians. In any event, it's depressing thinking about how much long-term upside on public safety, community trust, etc. could have been achieved if all of this money was instead invested in MPD and other local institutions.
I was wondering if the reason that administration wants to keep the guard in DC is because they’re worried about future protests and unrest against them. They want armed military on the ground in case they have to put down a “rebellion.“ Like if they try to steal the midterms, or 2028.
Is it not obvious? The troops are patrolling the political areas around the Mall. They're not over in Anacostia, Northwest, etc. They are basically staged to protect the regime if needed.
Although isn't it hard to imagine the national guard supporting an administration that tries to steal an election?
Yes, I don’t think the National Guard would knowingly help an administration overturn an election.
But it’s not hard to imagine them putting down protests. I was actually in the National Guard and it is the military- you are trained to obey orders.
Mid-level or senior officers would have to disobey direct orders. It’s a big deal. That’s why Navy ships are sinking civilian boats in the Caribbean.
Interesting. Thanks. And of course I have no idea how the administration‘s mendacity has changed the entire culture
And bombing civilians in Iran....
Not at all, when so many are from red states, drawn from the populaces of those states.
That’s a really rude comment. I was in the National Guard and I and many of the other people I knew in the Military are horrified by the lawlessness of the Trump administration. The military draws people from all groups. A really high percentage of them are men and women of color looking for economic and educational opportunities that’s not available otherwise.
Which is why I joined. To pay for college. These aren’t a bunch of proud boys. That’s a fantasy Hegseth is creating. But there is military discipline. And it might be used to twist things and results.
Sorry you took it that way.
I have many former Guard friends, some who served regular military when I did in late 60s and early 70s, and then Guarded up after 9/11, others who went in the Guard in the 60s and 70s, a couple who stayed 20 and 40 years.
The comment may be taken as rude, but it's still accurate, with plenty of exceptions.
I don't think that the military being more conservative than the rest of the country is true. Of course, lots of people have done studies on this, and if you search the Internet, the articles I read say it actually skews less conservative.
Check out Ira Katznelson’s When Affirmative Action was White. I'm pretty sure it's in that book that he talks about how diversity in the military played a significant role in making the military less conservative with less tendency toward white supremacy. Of course Hegseth is trying to change that
Yes
Thanks for an excellent piece.
For the benefit of those of us who cannot finance wapo's (and other's) paywall, please avoid using links that require subscription, etc., to read, such as the link to hegseth's malfeasance.
In typical trump fashion, what we have here is a vote-buying and favorability-buying scam. Trump hates ‘welfare’ so what does he do when his garbage brain cooks-up every conceivable way, including tariffs, and wars, and monuments to himself, and a $1.8b slush fund to distribute to do with what he wishes — and thereby raises the cost of living for middle class Americans? In amidst his endless self-enriching and self-serving grift and corruption, he pays tens of thousands of Nat’l Guard troops to walk around DC chatting with one another and checking their step-counting apps. This is purely a subsidy for these mostly young citizens to buy favorability and votes. He bypasses Congress in providing these subsidies to large numbers of favored Americans, just like he’s doing with the salaries and signing bonuses for ICE recruits and many others who he wants available as his personal militia when he needs them.
The corruption is simply unprecedented.
And why aren’t these STUPID banners taken down?
What left?
EPSTEIN
I have seen plenty of National Guard members in DC around DuPont Circle. Not one of them has been armed, interestingly. I wonder what percentage have firearms.
Also, the poll cited asked this question: "Q: Do you support or oppose Trump ordering the federal government to take control of Washington, D.C.’s police department and ordering the National Guard and FBI to patrol D.C?" I'd be curious what the public response would be today if they were asked, "Do you support or oppose National Guard personnel patrolling the streets of DC?"
Excellent questions. It's unclear to me how the JTF is (either formally or informally) differentiating patrol activity as between different parts of the District, with respect to sidearms and other orders. I haven't seen anyone dig into that particular issue. And as to the polling, I'm curious about your intuition -- do you think support for that hypothetical question today would poll higher or lower?
I think the poll question as originally asked was loaded in a couple senses. It was asking about three different entities (national Guard, Cops, and FBI) and it had charged language: "to take control of Washington, D.C.’s police department". I don't know if the poll responses would be different, but I suspect it might be a little less hostile---due to the National Guard thus far not living up to the fear of some residents. (E.g., 'They are Gestapo;... ;They are going to end up killing civilians...')
That might be right. On the other hand, there had been virtually zero incidents of NG misconduct over the first ~9 months of the mission, but starting in late spring / early summer, and as the summer "surge" ramped up, we started seeing more tense, and in some cases quite physical, encounters between NG and civilians. In any event, it's depressing thinking about how much long-term upside on public safety, community trust, etc. could have been achieved if all of this money was instead invested in MPD and other local institutions.