Opinion | This Is Un-American

A lot happened this week. “Referred to ceasefire agreement” “Protesters outside ICE building.” “The government is shutting down. There’s no end in sight.” “A criminal complaint has been filed against Attorney General Letitia James.” Here’s something you shouldn’t miss. At some point this year, you’ve probably seen President Trump send troops into Democratically run cities against the wishes of state and local officials. He then set his sights on Portland, Oregon, to quell a long-running protest outside an ICE facility, even though fewer than 20 people attended the protest each night in the days the order was issued. “As of right now, there are only about a dozen protesters.” What do these protests look like? “Just one horse this time.” “How absurd is the idea that we are resorting to violence.” Federal officials describe these protests as “low energy.” So how was Portland affected by these small protests? And so Portland sued President Trump. And last week, a federal judge appointed by Trump himself blocked the use of the Oregon National Guard. The judge said President Trump’s decision was fact-free and likely violated the Constitution. But President Trump found a temporary solution. He sent the National Guard from California to Oregon. The judge did not agree to this. He held an emergency hearing the next day, preventing President Trump from using the National Guard in any state. Trump was outraged at the reaction to his orders. So why does any of this matter? By attempting to circumvent this judge’s order, President Trump is eroding democracy on two important levels. First, the president challenges the judiciary designed to check executive power. Second, President Trump is using the military to go after American citizens he sees as political rivals. And President Trump is doing this in a fundamentally un-American way. Remember, one of the reasons the American Revolution took place was because of King George III. This was when George decided to send troops to the English colonies. The king was doing this to suppress opposition. So when the founding fathers won, they made sure that the Constitution included a high level of states’ rights, freedom of speech, and the principle of civilian control over the military. At the end of the day, the president alone cannot decide when to use the military against his own people. And if the court says no, it should listen. This is the American way.