I think there’s a magic[1] that the military is somehow also fairly firmly aligned with the constitution and non-partisan, though nominally also under the president’s command. I don’t really get it, and I don’t know how much this helps.
For all that they’re now playing coy, they were clearly implying the President had given unlawful orders, and were calling on the military to disobey him.
I wouldn’t be so sure that e.g. Mark Kelly was implying that the President himself had given unlawful orders. (I am open to evidence that this is what was being implied, or that this actually occurred.) The boat double-tap incident in particular suggested that unlawful orders may have been given by someone in the chain of command. Minus any speculative or actual nth-order effects, I think it was a sensible time to remind service members not to follow unlawful orders.
And of course, the POTUS himself frequently declines to defer to laws that would constrain him, so the idea that he might give unlawful orders shouldn’t be surprising to people in any given political camp.
I have heard this claim before, but have never been given a reason to believe it. Why do you believe the military is under the spell of “listen to the constitution” and not “listen to orders”? The latter seems a far more prevalent sentiment given the practical fact that often if you don’t listen to orders, you and your friends will often wind up dead.
Generally I do agree but given the current Secretary and some of the appointees I would question how strong that “magic” might be. Do you think some Generals or Armies/Divisions would rise up to oppose some core units that are aligned with such a President/Administration? At what point might they do that—the first case of S.C ruling something unconstitutional but the President continues? Or is it more likely they stay in their place and we just keep sliding down the slippery slope?
I think there’s a magic [1] that the military is somehow also fairly firmly aligned with the constitution and non-partisan, though nominally also under the president’s command. I don’t really get it, and I don’t know how much this helps.
and it is magic, as in it’s an inexplicable (to me) and presumed-contingent (social) technology
As a piece of info about the current real-life situation, there was an episode recently where some members of Congress made a PSA saying that military people should not follow unlawful orders, and then the president called for them to be locked up (or executed). https://www.deseret.com/politics/2025/11/20/trump-responds-as-democratic-lawmakers-direct-video-message-at-troops/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
For all that they’re now playing coy, they were clearly implying the President had given unlawful orders, and were calling on the military to disobey him.
I wouldn’t be so sure that e.g. Mark Kelly was implying that the President himself had given unlawful orders. (I am open to evidence that this is what was being implied, or that this actually occurred.) The boat double-tap incident in particular suggested that unlawful orders may have been given by someone in the chain of command. Minus any speculative or actual nth-order effects, I think it was a sensible time to remind service members not to follow unlawful orders.
And of course, the POTUS himself frequently declines to defer to laws that would constrain him, so the idea that he might give unlawful orders shouldn’t be surprising to people in any given political camp.
The video is 83 seconds long, anyone who wants to express an opinion on this topic might want to see it first.
I have heard this claim before, but have never been given a reason to believe it. Why do you believe the military is under the spell of “listen to the constitution” and not “listen to orders”? The latter seems a far more prevalent sentiment given the practical fact that often if you don’t listen to orders, you and your friends will often wind up dead.
Generally I do agree but given the current Secretary and some of the appointees I would question how strong that “magic” might be. Do you think some Generals or Armies/Divisions would rise up to oppose some core units that are aligned with such a President/Administration? At what point might they do that—the first case of S.C ruling something unconstitutional but the President continues? Or is it more likely they stay in their place and we just keep sliding down the slippery slope?