It has been a number of weeks since Elissa Slotkin, Mark Kelly, and different Democrats launched their outrageous video suggesting that members of the U.S. Military should refuse supposedly ‘illegal’ orders from President Trump. Persons are nonetheless speaking about it as a result of we now have by no means actually seen something prefer it prior to now.
What the Democrats tried to do right here is fairly easy to grasp. They’re attempting to drive a wedge between our navy and President Trump, the Commander in Chief. It’s the type of factor that the CIA does throughout shade revolutions in overseas nations and Elissa Slotkin is former CIA.
One query about all of this that retains arising is that this: The place did this come from? Who got here up with this concept? It actually doesn’t appear to be one thing Democrats would simply provide you with out of skinny air.
Properly, right here is one attainable reply to those questions.
A couple of month earlier than these Democrats launched their video, a By no means-Trump Republican named Tom Nichols wrote a column for The Atlantic which reads like a blueprint for this entire factor. Take a look at this:
The Civil-Army Disaster Is Right here
To seize a democratic nation, authoritarians should management three sources of energy: the intelligence companies, the justice system, and the navy. President Donald Trump and his circle of would-be autocrats have made fast progress towards seizing these establishments and detaching them from the Structure and rule of regulation. The intelligence neighborhood has successfully been muzzled, and the nation’s high legal professionals and cops are being purged and changed with loyalist hacks.
Solely the navy stays outdoors Trump’s grip. Regardless of the firing of a number of high officers—and Trump’s menace to fireside extra—the U.S. armed forces are nonetheless led by generals and admirals whose oath is to the Structure, not the commander in chief. However for the way lengthy?
Initially, what Nichols says right here is totally unsuitable. The navy is just not outdoors of Trump’s grip. As President of the USA, he’s the Commander in Chief. Now learn this subsequent half and particular consideration to the bolded ending:
Trump and his valet on the Protection Division, Secretary of Bodily Coaching Pete Hegseth, at the moment are making a devoted run at turning the women and men of the armed forces into Trump’s private and partisan military. In his first time period, Trump often violated the sacred American custom of the navy’s political neutrality, however individuals round him—together with retired and active-duty generals resembling James Mattis, John Kelly, and Mark Milley—restrained a few of his worst impulses. Now nobody is left to cease him: The president discovered from his first-term struggles and this time has surrounded himself with a Cupboard of sycophants and ideologues slightly than advisers, particularly these on the Pentagon. He has declared battle on Chicago; referred to as Portland, Oregon, a “battle zone”; and referred to his political opponents as “the enemy from inside.” Trump clearly needs to make use of navy energy to exert extra management over the American individuals, and shortly, high U.S.-military commanders could must resolve whether or not they are going to refuse such orders from the commander in chief. The best disaster of American civil-military relations in trendy historical past is now beneath manner.
The similarities listed here are plain. It appears like somebody within the Democrat get together learn this column and thought it could be a good way to undermine Trump by attempting to plant seeds of dissent within the navy.
In fact, it may simply be one nice huge coincidence too. Anybody shopping for that?
In his subsequent column for The Atlantic, Nichols prompt that Mark Kelly needs to be the Secretary of Protection. Is that this additionally a coincidence?
The creator of the beneath “Atlantic” screed is Tom Nichols.
From 1997 to 2022, Nichols was everlasting school on the U.S. Naval Conflict Faculty. He has by no means served within the navy, however does have a number of levels from some ostensibly spectacular universities.
In case you have been questioning… pic.twitter.com/mvcigrWdAC
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) December 3, 2025
Republicans in Congress must look into this. There are just too many handy coincidences right here.
