The Biggest Scandal of the Second Trump Term Isn’t “Signalgate” | The national-security chat debacle certainly merits attention. But the Trump administration is now blatantly disappearing students and others who are in the country legally.

[u/Murky-Site7468]

https://newrepublic.com/article/193291/trump-disappearing-students-rumeysa-ozturk-rubio-biggest-scandal

[u/arachnophilia]

congress can impeach him, and vote to remove him from office. that last bit depends on him obeying that ruling, same as the judicial ones. it's yet another trial. and that's assuming congress can get their shit together enough to even do that.

they don't have the power to actually physically remove him from office -- trump controls the executive branch, the people who execute those rulings. what happens if he just says "nah"?

there is always only one relevant question when it comes to authoritarians:

who does the military back?

[u/rckid13 → u/arachnophilia]

who does the military back?

Trump being removed would install Vance who isn't any better, or Mike Johnson who isn't any better. The military would probably follow along because nothing will change if they obey, and they get a fall guy. There would be a slightly bigger threat of stopping them if we had a democrat speaker of the house.

[u/African_Farmer → u/arachnophilia]

who does the military back?

Yup when it comes down to it, this is who can forcefully remove a ruler or allow the ruler to be removed by a mob of citizens by refusing to protect him.

[u/Polar_Vortx → u/arachnophilia]

Honestly, I think if Congress removed him from office, and Vance or whoever was sworn in, the military would follow suit. There is heavy, heavy emphasis placed on obeying the Constitution, not the whims of whoever’s in the White House.

[u/Thuyenlee → u/Polar_Vortx]

In high posistions of power, you have to think like a narcissist. Its improbable someone got there without shady dealings, secret alliances and allegences. I do not think the military would follow the constitution if it is in direct opposistion with its best intrest, it would be dependent on the person within each soldier to decide if he would follow the orders or not and that in turn will create the calculus if the commander betrays or not, its simply variable and not a ganrantee

[u/Polar_Vortx → u/Thuyenlee]

All I can attest to is what the U.S. military teaches itself, and it’s not the same thing as the Prussians taught themselves. If you poke around what people like Mark Milley said, it’s clear what culture they’re trying to promote. I agree that it’s not a guarantee, and it’s not a binary, but in terms of their starting point I feel optimistic that without the warrior board nonsense that’s being floated the Pentagon will be very uncomfortable stepping into the shoes of the Wehrmacht.

Again - not a guarantee, but an inclination. Honestly, the mere existence of that “warrior boards” idea from a couple months ago is more concerning to me than half of DOGE’s activities for this reason.

Also, in the context of the military not supporting Trump after an impeachment and removal, the calculus is easier, since duty and morality are pulling against personality, instead of personality and duty pulling against morality.

[u/arachnophilia → u/Polar_Vortx]

Honestly, I think

well, hopefully you're right.

but this is definitely uncharted territory where we have to guess, and hope.

[u/MMigali → u/arachnophilia]

Without a force that can make certain a judges has backup, the is no judicial system and

[u/greenyquinn → u/arachnophilia]

25th amendment is amazing because it is written so vaguely.

I think Vance actually has an argument to unilaterally remove Trump from power since president is now the principal officer of the executive departments.