# Donald Trump Doesn't Like Being Criticized (and Here's What He Can Do about That) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 19, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142 "2025-01-19T23:11:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/1 "2025-01-19T23:11:24Z")
Of course few of us do. But few of us have the option of doing something about it–and facing NO legal consequences. But that’s exactly what the Supreme Court has given Donald. Here’s the thing: Donald’s most-admired men on the whole planet do NOT permit criticism. Or dissent. Or suggestions for changing their dictatorships. Tomorrow, Donald will be in the position of never again having to face voters. It’s true that he’d prefer that everyone love him, but even he has been able to figure out that this can’t happen. What CAN happen is that he can stop any and all dissent concerning his government and himself from appearing on the internet and on television and radio, too. So why _wouldn’t_ he? His most-admired men don’t put up with dissent: > [@](#): > > … In a record 55 of the 70 countries covered, people faced legal repercussions for expressing themselves online. > … Among the offenders, China rates as Freedom House’s world’s worst abuser for the ninth consecutive year. The report lists nine tools used for limiting Internet freedoms, ranging from blocking social media to technical attacks against government critics, passing by arrests and imprisonment of bloggers, and using government commentators to manipulate Internet discussions. China employs all nine tools. > > … Russia is close behind, deploying eight of the nine tools to limit the free internet. During 2023, Moscow imposed ever more restrictive laws to control information and eliminate criticism of the Ukraine invasion. Authorities continued to block prominent social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and fined other platforms that refused to remove content and localize user data. > The government expanded the “foreign agents” law” to effectively include anyone and enabled the Justice Ministry to block the websites of designated foreign agents without a court decision. The ministry began adding news outlets and civil society organizations to the list of “undesirable organizations,” criminalizing participation in or support of them. … \*Citation 1 > [@](#): > > … Russian officials have stated that they are pursuing machine learning technology and Deep Packet Inspection. These are used to detect the presence of VPN encryption protocols and block them, similar to the capabilities China’s Great Firewall introduced in the last several years. > …Another prong of the assault on internet freedom by the Kremlin is the development of separate internet infrastructure under state control. > … Russia’s efforts are running parallel to the large-scale efforts underway to localize as much of the internet infrastructure as possible, thereby creating a sovereign Russian national internet. This would maximize Moscow’s control over the system. … \*\*Citation 2 > [@](#): > > … Repercussions from the invasion were also felt in Russia, as the government prosecuted users for criticizing the war online and blocked social media platforms to suppress uncensored information. Other governments in Eurasia maintained support for friendly news outlets and employed networks of inauthentic social media accounts to advance their preferred narratives. > … cut off internet access, restricted access to social media platforms, or blocked websites hosting political, social, and religious speech during electoral periods … \*\*\* Citation 3 So why _ **wouldn’t** _ Trump institute these measures here? Of course his task would go down more smoothly with many Americans if it were justified, or “justified,” by a Big Terrorist Event that would make it Necessary to take Stern Measures to Protect Us All. But that simply _ **can’t** _ happen here…right? Well, it may seem unthinkable. But: [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wdsph45atlcqevvqw52impvu/bafkreigf4c3pib5mjckafsfksx3fgu6gd5tmlfbckcnwksjjy2rey5ikfu@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wdsph45atlcqevvqw52impvu/bafkreigf4c3pib5mjckafsfksx3fgu6gd5tmlfbckcnwksjjy2rey5ikfu@jpeg) This, of course, is from Timothy Snyder’s classic _On Tyranny_. Trump doesn’t like dissent. In a few hours he will have a military, some of whom are likely already prepared to follow orders about dealing with protesters. Those numbers will almost surely increase under the “leadership” of Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. We already know that the tech CEOs will fall in line with any directions given by the Trumpites (who after all have the power to wreck both the CEO’s businesses and their personal lives). Anyone betting that a month from now we will be able to post our true opinions of Trump, here or anywhere else, is …quite the optimist. . . . \* [Internet Freedom Shrinks, Starting with China and Russia - CEPA](https://cepa.org/article/internet-freedom-shrinks-starting-with-china-and-russia/) \*\* [Russia Combats Internet Freedom - Jamestown](https://jamestown.org/program/russia-combats-internet-freedom/) \*\*\* [Internet Freedom in Eurasia Declined in 2024 | Freedom House](https://freedomhouse.org/article/fotn-2024-eurasia-release) **postscript:** I’m guessing there’s going to be a lot of “the laws will constrain him” and “Congress will constrain him” and “the Supreme Court will constrain him” floated about. I’d love to see some evidential support for those arguments, but that’s another thing I’m not optimistic about. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/2 "2025-01-19T23:14:16Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Anyone betting that a month from now we will be able to post our true opinions of Trump, here or anywhere else, is …quite the optimist. ::shrugs:: Okay, see you in a month. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/3 "2025-01-19T23:31:59Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Anyone betting that a month from now we will be able to post our true opinions of Trump, here or anywhere else, is …quite the optimist. It would show an unprecedented willingness to put effort into something for Trump to accomplish this big a change in a month. Plus an undemonstrated ability to accomplish something. Trump would probably like it if it was illegal to criticize him. But I’ll speculate he’ll try to accomplish this by his usual practice of loudly complaining until somebody else does it for him. And I feel the rest of the Republican party will have more immediate priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/4 "2025-01-19T23:37:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It would show an unprecedented willingness to put effort into something for Trump to accomplish this big a change in a month. I wasn’t postulating that Donald would do anything other than barking the order. He’d have no idea what is involved in the control China and Russia (and other dictatorships) have over their Internets—none whatsoever. That wouldn’t prevent it from happening, though. Heck, Elon Musk might get behind any shutdown of the Internet: he and Donald could announce that the **only** form of Internet allowed to continue during the Crisis (created by whatever Big Event gets engineered)\* would be Starlink. Think of the sales! \*Engineered, again, by someone other than Donald Trump. You can take as given that I am never, _ **ever** _ theorizing that Donald Trump accomplishes something that requires his personal knowledge or expertise or willingness to do something other than golf or throw ketchup at walls. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/5 "2025-01-19T23:42:57Z")
We’re about to find out whether the Bill of Rights is any damn good when it’s needed most. I’m not particularly optimistic because the system of checks and balances hasn’t worked worth a shit, because the supposed last-resort protection of the Electoral College has failed to do what it was intended to do, and most of all because the Supreme Court has ruled that, in effect, a sitting president can legally violate the Constitution with complete impunity. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/6 "2025-01-19T23:43:41Z")
Yep. It may all come down to who has an army. And we know the answer to that. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/7 "2025-01-19T23:43:45Z")
He doesn’t need to do any of this. Trump has power over the biggest newspapers in the US. Trump has power over all of the national television news channels. Trump has power over all of the national radio stations. Trump has power over all major social media platforms (outside of Reddit, which he will control soon). Two bit forums aren’t relevant ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/8 "2025-01-19T23:47:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Trump would probably like it if it was illegal to criticize him. But I’ll speculate he’ll try to accomplish this by his usual practice of loudly complaining until somebody else does it for him. Indeed. I’m waiting to see how loudly he complains when “Saturday Night Live” skewers him, as it undoubtedly will. It does it for every president, after all. Then he’ll call upon his Secretary of Communications to yank NBC’s broadcast license, and that person will have the unfortunate duty to inform Trump, “Sir, that’s not as easy as you think.” I’m finding myself missing Mad Magazine. They’d have a field day with Trump, and we’d find out if he can really shut down print media. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/9 "2025-01-19T23:49:02Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > He doesn’t need to do any of this. Trump has power over the biggest newspapers in the US. Trump has power over all of the national television news channels. Trump has power over all of the national radio stations. Trump has power over all major social media platforms (outside of Reddit, which he will control soon). I would guess that the direction you suggest (intimidation etc.) will be what he tries first. But even aside from “two bit forums” (!) there is still a lot of stuff on the Internet, and leaking through in television and radio, that Trump will come to feel is not responsive to his needs. You can threaten the head of Comcast with regulatory shenanigans and IRS audits, but that’s really not enough to completely scrub all media of copies of that photo of Trump playing tennis with his rear hanging out. If it _ **were** _ enough then Russia and China wouldn’t have to use all those nine methods of control mentioned in the Freedom House and other citations. I don’t think an Event will happen right away. A good bet would be the State of the Union address, which usually takes place near the end of February. That would give the Trumpites time to get their ducks in a row (to be gunned down). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/10 "2025-01-20T00:17:06Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > …because the supposed last-resort protection of the Electoral College has failed to do what it was intended to do,… The Electoral College was never intended to prevent the election of a populist or demagogue, and indeed it was quite intentionally designed to preserve the electoral power of minority population states, which at the time of ratification favored the slave-owning states. Trump cannot literally prohibit people from saying critical or unkind things about him, but he can intimidate politicians and public figures, ban journalists from access to the White House or other government briefings, threaten to revoke broadcast licenses, and SLAPP sue people on the basis of defamation of character, and encourage his supporters and followers to do the same. Timothy Snyder’s _On Tyranny_, referenced by the o.p., is an excellent and easily digestible read (as is Jason Stanley’s _How Fascism Works_), and Snyder produced a serious of videos a few years ago summarizing each of the lessons which is well worth the few minutes a day for a month it will take you to view them: https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLhZxrogyToZsllfRqQllyuFNbT-ER7TAu&wmode=transparent&rel=0&autohide=1&showinfo=1&enablejsapi=1 Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/11 "2025-01-20T00:22:28Z")
I had to check to make sure the OP wasn’t from 2017, because there were plenty of posts eight years ago predicting the exact same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/12 "2025-01-20T00:30:23Z")
What were you saying in 2017? I’m not saying the OP is going to be right, but I sure don’t think you have any stronger powers of clairvoyance. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/13 "2025-01-20T00:30:24Z")
Trump had four years to eliminate criticism. Didn’t happen. A month from now, a year, several years…there’ll still be plenty of bitching about Trump and his worshipful dingdongs. Certain types of unpleasantness in the form of lawsuits and investigations targeting high-profile critics may be forthcoming. But powerless anonymities on the Internet shouldn’t be expecting jackbooted Homeland Security officers pounding on their door in the dead of night. Incidentally, the idea of “false flag” events designed to lead to crackdowns on dissenters has been a favorite trope of the loony far right. We can do without the left-leaning opposition falling for similar conspiracy theories. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/14 "2025-01-20T00:32:17Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I wasn’t postulating that Donald would do anything other than barking the order. I’d just like to point out that Trump never gives orders - he just makes suggestions. Which is how he avoids taking responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/15 "2025-01-20T00:37:07Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > …because the supposed last-resort protection of the Electoral College has failed to do what it was intended to do,… > > The Electoral College was never intended to prevent the election of a populist or demagogue, and indeed it was quite intentionally designed to preserve the electoral power of minority population states, which at the time of ratification favored the slave-owning states. Your last statement is correct, but the first one is not. AIUI, the Founders – who generally wished to restrict voting rights to tax-paying landowners – had a deep distrust of the uneducated uninformed masses. The EC was the compromise that introduced an intermediary body for precisely the purpose, in part, of overturning asinine decisions by said uninformed masses. Quick summary: > The Founding Fathers established [the Electoral College] in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. > [What is the Electoral College? | National Archives](https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about) More details, with bolding mine: > One group of delegates felt strongly that Congress shouldn’t have anything to do with picking the president. Too much opportunity for chummy corruption between the executive and legislative branches. > > Another camp was dead set against letting the people elect the president by a straight popular vote. **First, they thought 18th-century voters lacked the resources to be fully informed about the candidates, especially in rural outposts. Second, they feared a headstrong “democratic mob” steering the country astray. And third, a populist president appealing directly to the people could command dangerous amounts of power.** > > Out of those drawn-out debates came a compromise based on the idea of electoral intermediaries. These intermediaries wouldn’t be picked by Congress or elected by the people. Instead, the states would each appoint independent “electors” who would cast the actual ballots for the presidency. > [Why Was the Electoral College Created? | HISTORY](https://www.history.com/news/electoral-college-founding-fathers-constitutional-convention) Please note that the parts I bolded above are precisely what happened in the last election (just substitute “21st century” for “18th century”), and the Electoral College did precisely fuck-all about it. ---
**Author:** ![StringsandHammers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stringsandhammers/32/17933_2.png) [@StringsandHammers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StringsandHammers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/16 "2025-01-20T00:37:13Z")
I’m not worried about members of the military trampling all over the Constitution. Members of the armed services swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution above all else and spend a life time protecting that oath with their lives. The real threat comes from lifelong civilians like Trump and Elon Musk who have never sacrificed a damn thing for the good of this country and do everything in their power to avoid paying one bloody cent more than they are absolutely forced. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/17 "2025-01-20T00:45:44Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > What were you saying in 2017? This. > [@So, this is what it looks like before the war.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-it-looks-like-before-the-war/772407/150): > > I’m willing to predict that Trump is not going to establish concentration camps, commit ethnic cleansing, or declare martial law and suspend the Constitution, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/18 "2025-01-20T00:53:10Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I’d just like to point out that Trump never gives orders - he just makes suggestions. Which is how he avoids taking responsibility. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Trump is rather like the Godfather, who never ordered anything illegal. He just mused aloud about things. If somebody decided to act on the Godfather’s musings, well, the Godfather can’t be responsible. That’s Trump in a nutshell. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/19 "2025-01-20T00:56:21Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Trump is rather like the Godfather, who never ordered anything illegal. He just mused aloud about things. If somebody decided to act on the Godfather’s musings, well, the Godfather can’t be responsible. The Godfather also can’t be responsible if someone who **failed** to act on their musings ended up with, say, a severed horse’s head in their bed. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142/20 "2025-01-20T01:08:50Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I had to check to make sure the OP wasn’t from 2017, because there were plenty of posts eight years ago predicting the exact same thing. Your “everything is exactly the same as it was eight years ago and the Supreme Court which he appointed three justices to will find their principles and put the brakes on Trump’s excesses” schtick has worn very thin. This is a very different Supreme Court makeup which has demonstrated its conciliatory attitude toward Donald Trump, and a far more. MAGA-friendly GOP dominated Congress he is coming into as compared to 2017. > [@wolfpup](#): > > AIUI, the Founders – who generally wished to restrict voting rights to tax-paying landowners – had a deep distrust of the uneducated uninformed masses. The EC was the compromise that introduced an intermediary body for precisely the purpose, in part, of overturning asinine decisions by said uninformed masses. It was also intended to maintain a status quo in terms of a balance of power between states, and especially with respect to slavery, which was already a contentious issue in 1789 that threatened the ability of the Second Continental Congress to come to agreement on drafts of what became the Constitution of the United States, hence the Three-Fifths Compromise, awarding ‘votes’ to slaveholding states that contributed to both their apportioning of representatives and Electoral College votes… > [@StringsandHammers](#): > > I’m not worried about members of the military trampling all over the Constitution. Members of the armed services swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution above all else and spend a life time protecting that oath with their lives. That is certainly true of most senior officers who have lived most of their career under ‘normal’ leadership which held the oath to “preserve , protect and defend the Constitution” and aren’t addicted to social media and its reason-eroding effects, although Trump has openly vowed to remove officers in senior leadership who do not pledge fealty to him or refuse to carry out his orders. I am not sanguine about as many junior officers for whom Trump’s rhetoric has been normalized and concurrence with orders, however suspect, is the route to increasingly limited billets for promotion. There is a massive problem with racism, White Nationalist sentiments, et cetera among enlisted ranks. Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-doesnt-like-being-criticized-and-heres-what-he-can-do-about-that/1013142.md?page=2)