Date: 2025-07-04 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028654
PRESIDENT TRUMP
UNACCEPTABLE FACE OF LEADERSHIP
'That's a Dictator': Trump Threatens Force Against Military Parade Protesters
UNACCEPTABLE FACE OF LEADERSHIP
'That's a Dictator': Trump Threatens Force Against Military Parade Protesters
A woman holds hands with a child as she waves an American flag
while California National Guard personnel stand outside of a
federal building during protests in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025.
(Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images)
Original article: https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-military-parade-protests
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
The idea that Donald Trump can be 'elected' to anything is difficult to accept and explain.
In terms of 'explanation' the only answer has to be that the American electorate are extremely stupid and/or lazy
It has been a fact for a very long time that rather few Americans actually vote in elections. They also ignore politics and are woefully ignorant of most important issues.
It should not come as a surprise that a successful 'game show host' on TV can become a political winner in the USA. This is how Trump got elected to be President ... not once but twice.
This may be stupid, but this is America where stupid is pretty normal!
All of this has me 'scared stiff!'
Back in 1914 to 1916, the United States missed the first 2 years of World War I.
And the same from 1939 to December 1941, the United States missed a critical time at the start of WWII when the UK was the only bulwark against the German Nazi war machine.
Trump is an ignorant person ... but his 'power' as President of the United States makes him very dangerous.
To the extent that 'money is power', the United States has a concentration of wealth that is also very dangerous.
My expectation is that US leadership ... that is Trump and his high level enablers ... are going to be disappointed. This may be quite soon, or it may be a couple of years away, but the world is showing signs of serious 'pushback' against the Trump agenda
My perspective on world affairs suggests that the world outside the USA is more powerful now relative the the USA than at any time in my lifetime ... and I am now 85 years old!
The sad reality is that ordinary decent Americans are going to have significantly degraded quality of life in the near future because of Trump ... and they won't know it until it is too late. The world has little need for the USA any more ... a very different situation than the one that existed for several decades after WWII.
Buckle yout seatbelts ... the ride is going to be very rough!
Peter Burgess
'Worth stressing that he's not threatening rioters or people who are violent or lawless but literally just 'protesters.''
Written by Jake Johnson
Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.
Jun 11, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to respond with force to protesters who gather this coming weekend in opposition to his costly and authoritarian military parade in Washington, D.C., remarks that came amid growing fears that the administration is planning to mobilize troops across the country.
In his comments, Trump made no effort to distinguish between peaceful demonstrators and those who commit violence or property damage, telling reporters, 'For those people that want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force.'
'I haven't even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force' the president continued.
Under the banner of 'No Kings,' roughly 2,000 rallies have been planned across the United States on June 14 to protest Trump's birthday military parade and grave abuses of power, including his deployment of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to crush demonstrations in Los Angeles.
A map of rallies planned across the U.S.
Organizers opted against holding a 'No Kings' rally in the U.S., saying that 'real power isn't staged in Washington.'
'Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity,' they said, 'we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption.'
Leaders of the rallies have stressed their commitment to nonviolence, saying in a statement this past weekend that 'organizers are trained in de-escalation and are working closely with local partners to ensure peaceful and powerful actions nationwide.'
Public Citizen, a 'No Kings' partner organization, was among those responding with alarm to Trump's remarks on Tuesday.
'That's a dictator,' the group wrote on social media.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes wrote that it's 'worth stressing that he's not threatening rioters or people who are violent or lawless but literally just 'protesters' with 'very big force.''
'My strong instinct is that Trump's threats against Americans' First Amendment right to peaceably assemble are going to massively juice attendance at Saturday's protests,' Hayes added.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next.
It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk.
Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support.
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