The Atlantic's Tom Nichols Claims Trump Normalizes Military as Personal Force to Target Americans

On MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," The Atlantic's Tom Nichols and host Alicia Menendez expressed deep concerns about President Donald Trump's recent military actions, specifically the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the U.S. Southern Command. Nichols suggested that Trump's use of military force against drug traffickers, treating them like enemy combatants, represents a dangerous precedent that could normalize the military as the president's "private army," unconstrained by law or tradition. Both Nichols and Menendez warned that this approach could lead to the military being used for political or personal purposes, including potentially targeting Americans domestically. Critics argue that such actions violate both American and international law, with some viewing the deployment as a distraction from Trump's low approval ratings and ongoing scandals. The discussion sparked significant controversy, with supporters defending the military move as a decisive strike against drug cartels, while opponents condemned it as an abuse of military power and a threat to democratic norms. This debate highlights ongoing tensions around the use of military force in U.S. policy and concerns over executive overreach.