Obama rebukes Trump’s use of the National Guard in cities: “Inherently corrupting”
When Barack Obama speaks, people listen — not just because he’s a former president, but because he knows what leadership rooted in compassion looks like.
On Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Obama didn’t mince words about Donald Trump’s latest move to deploy military forces in American cities. He warned that American democracy was being “deliberately weakened.” This is part of what he had to say:
“When you have an army that can direct force against its own people, that is inherently corrupting.”
Think about it – soldiers, trained for warfare, are ordered to patrol the very neighborhoods they are sworn to protect. It’s not only un-American, it’s dangerous.
Since taking office for the second time, President Trump has established his personal brand of law and order — sending the National Guard to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Portland, and most recently Chicago — Obama’s hometown. Since then, a federal appeals court has blocked the Guard from being deployed on Chicago streets, but has allowed the Guard to remain under federal control. The Trump administration claims it’s all about protecting federal buildings during protests over ICE operations. But Obama doesn’t believe that.
“If you sent the National Guard to Texas and just said, ‘You know what? “There’s a lot of problems in Dallas, a lot of crime there, and I don’t care what Governor Abbott says, I’m going to kind of take over law enforcement, because I think things are out of control.” It’s baffling to me how Fox News would respond.
This is a fair point. Because it’s not about protecting buildings, it’s about strength. It is about redefining who the “enemy” is. You may remember late last month, in a speech to military commanders, Trump described “civil unrest” as the “enemy within,” and said the following:
“I told Pete, ‘We should use some of these dangerous cities as training sites for our Army, the National Guard, but the Army.’
Training grounds? Our neighborhoods are not training camps. Our citizens are not rebels. Obama opposed this vision perfectly: “We don’t want masked people with rifles and machine guns patrolling our streets. We want fast cops who know the neighborhood and the kids around us, and that’s how we keep the peace here.”
Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, it is generally illegal to use the military to enforce civil law. The Insurrection Act, which Trump threatened to invoke, was intended for true emergencies — such as insurgencies, invasions, and moments when states call for help. The last time it was used was during the 1992 Los Angeles riots — and even then, at the governor’s request
So the question is not whether the president can use the military in this way. It’s whether he should. Because when we begin to treat our fellow citizens as combatants, we lose something far greater than control—we lose trust, humanity, and the very fabric of democracy.
Crime in our cities will not be solved by tactically equipped forces. They will be solved by investing in people, through jobs, education and community policing that actually connects, not divides. The militarization of our streets may look powerful on television, but real power is not about force, it is about long-term cooperation between state and federal officials.
Lindsay Granger is a News Nation contributor and co-host of the commentary show “Rising” on The Hill. This column is an edited version for on-air commentary.
