Trump’s Repeated Failure to Militarize Domestic Law Enforcement

By Cliff Potts, Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Introduction

Over the past several years, Donald Trump has repeatedly flirted with one of the defining features of authoritarian rule: the use of military force to intimidate or control a civilian population. Each attempt has followed the same basic script — public signaling, media confusion, legal brinkmanship — and each has failed for the same reason. The courts are still functioning.

Border Deployment Misrepresentation

The most recent episode centers on reports that U.S. Marines were deployed to the southern border, triggering predictable alarm and deliberate misrepresentation across partisan media. In reality, the deployment involved limited logistical and support roles, not domestic policing or law enforcement. That distinction matters, and it is intentionally blurred by those who benefit from fear-based narratives. The goal is not clarity; it is normalization — getting the public used to the idea of uniformed troops operating inside U.S. borders as instruments of civilian control.

Repeated Efforts Blocked by the Courts

This is not new. Trump has repeatedly sought to deploy the National Guard or active-duty forces in ways that push, strain, or outright ignore constitutional limits. Most recently, courts blocked attempts to deploy Guard units without state consent for domestic enforcement operations. Once again, the judiciary stepped in where executive ambition overreached.

Banana Republic Parallels and Institutional Resistance

These efforts resemble a familiar pattern seen in so-called “banana republics,” where leaders bypass civilian institutions by leaning on military authority. In those systems, courts are sidelined, legislatures are weakened, and soldiers become tools of political theater. Trump’s interest in this model has never been subtle. He has openly praised strongman leaders, expressed frustration with legal constraints, and repeatedly tested how far executive power can be stretched before it snaps back.

What has stopped him is not restraint, but resistance — primarily from the courts. The U.S. judiciary has consistently reaffirmed a basic constitutional principle: the U.S. military is not a domestic police force, and presidents do not rule by decree. Even when decisions are narrow or procedural, the effect is the same — the line holds.

Why Misrepresentation Matters

The border deployment misinformation serves a secondary purpose. By exaggerating the role of Marines and implying domestic enforcement authority, political operatives create the illusion that militarization is already underway. This primes the public for future attempts and reframes lawful limits as obstacles rather than safeguards. In short, it is psychological conditioning masquerading as news.

Conclusion

So far, this strategy has failed. Trump can threaten, posture, and provoke, but without legal authority, the military cannot be turned inward. That is the difference between the United States and the authoritarian systems Trump appears to admire. A functioning judiciary remains a sufficient deterrent — for now.

The lesson is straightforward and uncomfortable. Democratic systems do not collapse all at once. They are tested repeatedly, often through trial runs that fail before one finally succeeds. Each failure should not inspire complacency, but vigilance. The courts are still working. The law is still holding. That fact, more than any speech or election slogan, is what has kept the United States from sliding into something far darker.

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APA Citations

Associated Press. (2025, December 25). Supreme Court blocks Trump’s National Guard deployment in Chicago area. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/97192a48f01dd4954f1ba505628b5f21

Marine Corps Times. (2025, December 23). Marines deployed to Arizona’s southern border to support security. Marine Corps Times. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2025/12/23/marines-deployed-to-arizonas-southern-border-to-support-security/

New York Post. (2025, December 25). Justice Alito rips ‘unwise’ colleagues for blocking Trump’s National Guard deployment. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2025/12/25/us-news/justice-alito-rips-unwise-supreme-court-colleagues-for-blocking-trumps-national-guard-deployment/