Trump Finds His National Guard, Just Not For January 6th
The Independent details a lawsuit claiming Trump's National Guard deployment to Chicago is 'illegal, dangerous, and unconstitutional,' potentially 'inciting public outcry.' This legal challenge conveniently overlooks the fact that the National Guard was activated over 40 times during Trump's presidency for various reasons, including civil unrest. Notably, concerns about legality and
constitutionality often vanish when federal troops are deployed to quell protests that don't directly challenge the political establishment, or when the deployment aligns with a desired narrative. One might wonder where this passionate legal fervor was during the deployment of federal agents during the Portland protests in 2020 or, indeed, during the insurrection attempts on January 6th, 2021. It
appears the 'danger' and 'unconstitutionality' of military deployment are highly subjective, shifting with the political winds and the optics of who is being suppressed. The criticism seems to follow a familiar pattern: aggressive federal intervention is only 'illegal' when it's politically inconvenient for one side, while its absence is decried as a 'failure of leadership' by the other. How many
times must we observe these selective outrage cycles before recognizing the predictable choreography of political theater?