Former President Barack Obama called the recent federalization of police a “dangerous” trend and warned of President Donald Trump placing the U.S. military in more cities across America.
Obama was reacting to a transcript of a recent podcast from New York Times reporter Ezra Klein where he cautioned his listeners of the Trump administration’s “road to authoritarianism.”
“This interview, which is also available to listen to as a podcast, provides a useful overview of some of the dangerous trends we’ve been seeing in recent months regarding federalization and militarization of state and local police functions,” Obama posted on X Thursday morning.
Trump announced earlier in the month that Washington, D.C.’s police would be put under federal control, and National Guard troops have been deployed after a public safety emergency. Using temporary powers from the Home Rule Act of 1973, the president can oversee the police for up to 30 days, but any extension would need congressional approval or a legal amendment.
Klein confessed that while Trump is “just doing what he promised” by increasing deportations and building more detention centers for illegal immigrants, his promises were “always going to be ugly and cruel.” Klein went on to predict in dreamlike metaphors an America that is at the precipice of an explosion.
“What is going to happen when, predictably, a protester throws a rock at an agent? Or a Marine hears a car backfiring and thinks it’s a gunshot? In an instant, this could all explode. You could have American troops firing on American civilians in an American city in a country-defining crisis. What happens then?” the author pondered.
Obama added that members of both parties should be concerned by Trump’s actions, writing, “The erosion of basic principles like due process and the expanding use of our military on domestic soil puts the liberties of all Americans at risk, and should concern Democrats and Republicans alike.”
In addition to Washington, the Trump administration could be planning to send National Guard troops to Chicago to deal with the city’s epidemic of crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration. The president has also made statements hinting at the use of troops in New York City and Baltimore.
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