# How Likely is It that Trump will Try to Proclaim Martial Law? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 17, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294 "2020-12-17T22:09:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/181 "2020-12-27T22:34:30Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Buchanan would no doubt be even happier to learn that he will no longer be known as the worst president ever. I think he stopped being considered that after Harding’s term. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/182 "2020-12-27T22:41:16Z")
I’ve seen lists with Harding at the bottom, but usually it’s Buchanan. Unless it’s Grant. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/183 "2020-12-28T00:25:42Z")
Hard to think Grant would rate that low. Grant personally. He had some dreadful people under him but was much beloved by the public. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/184 "2020-12-28T15:28:41Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Buchanan spoke to Lincoln at the inauguration and said, “Sir, if you are happier taking this office than I am in leaving it, you are the happiest man in the country.” > > Buchanan would no doubt be even happier to learn that he will no longer be known as the worst president ever. Reminds me of the old saw: > The two happiest days in the life of a boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it." Some cynics feel similarly about marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/185 "2020-12-28T15:52:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Hard to think Grant would rate that low. Grant personally. He had some dreadful people under him but was much beloved by the public. Appreciation of Grant has been increasing over the past couple of decades, I think because historians are paying more attention to his Reconstruction efforts and less to the corruption aspects of underlings. For example, in this C-Span ranking, he’s improved from 33 in 2003 to 22 in 2017. That’s a major change for a president who served over a century ago. It’s normally the more recent presidents who flip around until greater historical perspective develops. > **[Total Scores/Overall Rankings | C-SPAN Survey on Presidents 2017](https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?page=overall)** > > Which presidents do Presidential Historians rank best? Find out with C-SPAN's Presidential Historian Survey. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/186 "2020-12-28T16:18:28Z")
Checked the others in the C-Span survey. That nine point improvement for Grant is the single biggest shift for any president over the two decades of that particular survey. Truman got a similar re-appreciation, as historians who lived through the Truman years died off and new historians, who didn’t have personal memories or perspectives, re-examined Truman’s record more neutrally. I think Eisenhower has slipped proportionately. Truman’s initial poor rankings were because he came between FDR and Eisenhower, who both had major roles in WWII that influenced contemporary assessments. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/187 "2020-12-28T16:47:42Z")
The only thing I credit Eisenhower as president with is he did try to warn the nation about the dangers of the military-industrial complex. Oh, and he did oversee the Interstate Highway System… But man, he should’ve Patton-slapped Joseph McCarthy. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/188 "2020-12-28T17:04:19Z")
Eisenhower should get credit for his actions in the Little Rock Nine case as well, calling in the military to ensure their safety after Gov Faubus tried to keep them out. You can argue he didn’t act quickly enough, and you might be right, and you can argue that he should have done more in general for civil rights, and you might be right about that too (of course you can say that about FDR, Truman, and Kennedy as well), but this was a very good move. You’re right about McCarthy! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/189 "2020-12-28T18:54:27Z")
Wilson was one of the very worst, he was a racist piece of shit, who got us into a stupid war. The USA, by selling food and munitions to GB, extended the suffering of the Great War. Wilsons racism extended the Jim Crow laws and set back racial equality by decades. A greater President would have brokered peace. Not doing so caused WW2 and the Holocaust. [https://news.yahoo.com/historian-told-us-why-woodrow-153000933.html](https://news.yahoo.com/historian-told-us-why-woodrow-153000933.html) > **[Wilson the Worst](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wilson-the-worst_b_4259999)** > > Blessed with a fine education and considerable talent, Wilson generally used his powers for evil rather than good. It's fitting that Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize, while true peacemakers of their generation, men like... > **[The Worst President: Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)](https://rossonl.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-worst-president-in-history-woodrow-wilson-1913-1921/)** > > He’s known as one of the most hard-working visionary presidents in American history. He was also the very worst. Here’s the run-down of Wilson’s sins. They fall under his catastro… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/190 "2020-12-28T20:30:14Z")
Wilson is currently ranked 11th on that C-Span survey. My guess is that he’s going to start slipping. ---
**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:** [December 28, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/191 "2020-12-28T20:34:35Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Appreciation of Grant has been increasing over the past couple of decades, I think because historians are paying more attention to his Reconstruction efforts and less to the corruption aspects of underlings. There have been three major biographies of Grant published in the last few years: _The Man Who Saved the Union_ by H.W. Brands (2013), _American Ulysses_ by Ronald White (2016), and _Grant_ by Ron Chernow (2018). So it’s not surprising to see opinions about Grant being revised. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/192 "2020-12-28T20:38:00Z")
Eisenhower also desegregated the army. Like most people in their time he didn’t do enough but he did move us forward. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/193 "2020-12-28T20:43:54Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Eisenhower also desegregated the army. Like most people in their time he didn’t do enough but he did move us forward. - Truman. > **[Executive Order 9981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9981)** > > Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. This executive order abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces. The Order led to the re-integration of the services during the Korean War (1950–1953). It was a crucial event in the post-World War II civil rights movement and a major achievement of Truman's presidency. Executive Order 9981 was issued primarily due to an attack on Isaac Truma... ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/194 "2020-12-28T20:44:06Z")
President Truman desegregated the U.S. military, including the Army, in 1948. At the time, Eisenhower was president of Columbia University. ETA: ninja’d ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/195 "2020-12-28T20:46:30Z")
Truman ordered the desegreation in 1948. Eisenhower was responsible for fully implementing it after he was elected. > **[Executive Order 9981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9981)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. This executive order abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces, and led to the re-integration of the services during the Korean War (1950–1953). It was a crucial event in the post-World War II civil rights movement and a major achievement of Truman's presidency. > Black Americans in the military... ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/196 "2020-12-28T20:50:11Z")
Huh, I didn’t realize the Truman started it. Wiki does note that Eisenhower implemented most of it so I’ll still give him some credit. 🍻 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/197 "2020-12-28T20:59:26Z")
**Piper** shakes fist at **Running Coach** : Dang you and your superior wiki-search skills! ---
**Author:** ![agzem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@agzem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agzem)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/198 "2020-12-28T21:28:05Z")
If Trump were going to declare martial law he would have done it months ago: “…Trump was criticized, especially by Democrats, **for _failing_ to assert the draconian powers** he had, such as commandeering the means of industrial production under the Defense Production Act of 1950, invoked by Truman to force industry to produce materials needed for the Korean War. In March, _The Washington Post_ [reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/19/defense-production-act-trump-coronavirus/) that “Governors, Democrats in Congress and some Senate Republicans have been urging Trump for at least a week to invoke the act, and his potential 2020 opponent, Joe Biden, came out in favor of it, too,” yet “Trump [gave] a variety of reasons for not doing so.” **Rejecting demands to exploit a public health pandemic to assert extraordinary powers is not exactly what one expects from a striving dictator**.” > **[The Threat of Authoritarianism in the U.S. is Very Real, and Has Nothing To...](https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-threat-of-authoritarianism-in)** > > The COVID-driven centralization of economic power and information control in the hands of a few corporate monopolies poses enduring threats to political freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/199 "2020-12-28T21:32:27Z")
> [@agzem](#): > > “…Trump was criticized, especially by Democrats, **for _failing_ to assert the draconian powers** he had, such as commandeering the means of industrial production under the Defense Production Act of 1950, invoked by Truman to force industry to produce materials needed for the Korean War. In March, _The Washington Post_ [reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/19/defense-production-act-trump-coronavirus/) that “Governors, Democrats in Congress and some Senate Republicans have been urging Trump for at least a week to invoke the act, and his potential 2020 opponent, Joe Biden, came out in favor of it, too,” yet “Trump [gave] a variety of reasons for not doing so.” **Rejecting demands to exploit a public health pandemic to assert extraordinary powers is not exactly what one expects from a striving dictator**.” Quote from a far right-wing blogger. Disappointing, but not unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294/200 "2020-12-28T23:32:14Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > It wouldn’t hurt for the person to have a Christian fundamentalist background, who can quote chapter and verse about the End Times and Revelations. That would go over big, and people would be willing to die, or put up with no end of sacrifices in that next dictator’s service. Who was it that said “When fascism comes to America it’ll be wrapped in the Flag and carrying the Cross”? > [@Atamasama](#): > > But I saw W as a neocon, while Trump isn’t; he’s an isolationist who used trade wars and border walls to isolate the country. Invading other countries is anathema to such philosophy. > > Plus, he cozied up to the likes of Putin and Kim Jong-un. If he invaded anyone it would probably be Mexico. I’m a little worried he’ll do something like ordering unilateral airstrikes on Iran (ostensively b/c of their nuclear program) to leave the resulting mess on Biden’s hands. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294.md?page=11)