Rachel Maddow Calls Trump's 170-Mile U.S. Border-Mexico Military Base a ‘Big Red Flag' of ‘Authoritarian Takeover'
The journalist jumped right into her take on Trump's second 100 days in office on Monday night's episode of 'The Rachel Maddow Show' by outlining the details of Trump's military zone, which she said has yet to become a 'major issue' but soon will be.
'I want to put a little focus on things that have not yet emerged as major issues, but heads up, they're coming,' Maddow prefaced, sharing that this month Trump signed off on what's being called a National Security Presidential Memorandum, a message declaring that three neighboring states — New Mexico, Arizona and California — are now part of a military base.
'In this memo, Trump ordered the Pentagon, the Defense Department, to start taking control of this land. So now the U.S. military has taken control of 170 miles of land, starting in New Mexico, along new New Mexico's southern border,' Maddow explained. 'And they have declared that that land is now part of Fort Huachuca, which is a U.S. army base that's not even in New Mexico. It's in Arizona. Why would you take 170 miles of land in three different states and say all that land is now part of an army base somewhere very far away? It's because he wants active duty service members to start arresting people on U.S. soil.'
She went to explain that as of last week, the military now has the power to 'arrest anyone who steps foot on that 170-mile-long strip of land.' Per a note from the U.S. Northern Command, soldiers can 'temporarily detain trespassers,' 'conduct cursory searchers of trespassers' and 'conduct crowd control measures.'
That's when she shared that she believes the orders are some of the early signs of Trump's attempts to turn the U.S. into an authoritarian-operated nation.
'We may not think of this as something that matters for broader U.S. politics, or indeed the health of our political system,' Maddow said. 'But if you're looking for big red flags in terms of authoritarian takeover in a democratic rule of law country, when you've got U.S. troops searching and arresting people and doing 'crowd control' on U.S. soil, you're kind of there.'
Maddow goes on to explain that while the Posse Comitatus, a 19th century law that blocks the military from participating in everyday civil law enforcement, Trump has appeared to have found a loophole, as he has designated three states as a military zone.
'Under American law, the Posse Comitatus Act is supposed to prevent the U.S. government from using U.S. soldiers on U.S. soil,' Maddow said. 'Theoretically, if somebody wonders onto a military base they can be arrested as trespassers on military property. So the idea here, I think, the neat trick that Trump has pulled here is that he's just turned hundreds of miles of American soil into what is technically a military base. So hey, presto, that's one unique trick to give the U.S. the power to search and arrest people on U.S. soil. And right now, they are only doing it at the edges, the physical edges of our country. But that is how you start.'
You can watch the full 'Rachel Maddow Show' clip in the video above.
The post Rachel Maddow Calls Trump's 170-Mile U.S. Border-Mexico Military Base a 'Big Red Flag' of 'Authoritarian Takeover' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
31 minutes ago
- CBS News
Watch Live: House nears final vote on "big, beautiful bill" after Jeffries sets record for longest speech
Washington — The House is nearing a final vote Thursday on President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" after Republican leaders overcame resistance from GOP holdouts in a dramatic overnight session, prompting Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to delay a final vote by delivering the longest House speech on record. "We'll have the votes," House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday morning. "We'll land this plane before July 4th." Republicans are trying to approve the final version of the legislation ahead of the self-imposed Friday deadline to get the bill to the president's desk. After hours of delay, the House voted 219-213 to advance the bill, scoring a key victory for Johnson. Lawmakers began voting at about 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, but didn't wrap up until about 3:20 a.m. Thursday, as GOP leaders and the White House spoke with holdouts for hours to overcome their objections. "What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT'S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!" Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after midnight. Following the procedural vote, the House began debating the bill. Just before 5 a.m., Jeffries began addressing the chamber for a "magic minute," a House custom that allows the leader unlimited speaking time. The New York Democrat pledged to "take his time" as he highlighted the Americans who he said would suffer because of the bill. He ended up speaking for 8 hours and 44 minutes straight, surpassing the record for the longest floor speech in House history, which was previously held by Kevin McCarthy, who spoke for 8 hours and 32 minutes in 2021. "I rise today in strong opposition to Donald Trump's one, big ugly bill," Jeffries said as he began speaking. "This disgusting, abomination, the GOP tax scam, that guts Medicaid, rips food from the mouths of children, seniors and veterans, and rewards billionaires with massive tax breaks. Every single Democrat stands in strong opposition to this bill because we're standing up for the American people." Johnson was expected to speak after Jeffries concludes, followed by the final vote. House hardliners push back against Senate changes After the Senate approved the bill Tuesday, House GOP leaders had aimed to move ahead quickly on the signature legislation of Mr. Trump's second-term agenda, which includes ramped-up spending for border security, defense and energy production and extends trillions of dollars in tax cuts, partially offset by substantial cuts to health care and nutrition programs. But some House Republicans, who voted to pass an earlier version of the bill in May, were unhappy with the Senate's changes. Holdouts, including moderates and members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, met with Mr. Trump on Wednesday as the White House pressured House Republicans to vote for the bill. While some lawmakers described the meetings as productive, a number of conservatives said ahead of a rule vote Wednesday afternoon that they thought the procedural vote would fail. Johnson spent weeks pleading with his Senate counterparts not to make any major changes to the version of the bill that passed the lower chamber by a single vote in May. He said the Senate bill's changes "went a little further than many of us would've preferred." The Senate-passed bill includes steeper Medicaid cuts, a higher increase in the debt limit and changes to the House bill's green energy policies and the state and local tax deduction. Other controversial provisions that faced pushback in both chambers, including the sale of public lands in nearly a dozen states, a 10-year moratorium on states regulating artificial intelligence and an excise tax on the renewable energy industry, were stripped from the Senate bill before heading back to the House. Before the critical procedural vote ended, Johnson told reporters that Mr. Trump was "directly engaged" in conversations with skeptical members. "Members wanted to hear certain assurances from him about what's ahead, what the future will entail, and what we're going to do next, and all of that," Johnson said. "And he was very, very helpful in that process." In the wee hours on Thursday, five House Republicans had voted no on the rule vote, which was enough to tank the vote with a razor-thin GOP majority in the lower chamber, and eight possible holdouts had not voted. But the vote remained open as GOP leaders worked to shore up support, allowing lawmakers to change their votes from no to yes. Mr. Trump had taken to Truth Social as a handful of Republican holdouts didn't appear to be budging, declaring "FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!" Republican leaders ultimately won the support of about a dozen GOP opponents to the rule. And when the vote finally came to an end, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania was the sole Republican opposed. , and contributed to this report.
Hamilton Spectator
38 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Supreme Court to consider reviving lawsuit restricting evangelizing in small Mississippi town
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Thursday it will consider whether to revive a lawsuit from a man barred from evangelizing outside a small-town Mississippi amphitheater after authorities say he shouted insults at people over a loudspeaker. Gabriel Olivier, an evangelical Christian, says restricting him from public property violated his religious and free speech rights, but a legal Catch-22 has barred him from challenging the law in court. Lower courts found he couldn't file a civil-rights lawsuit because he'd been arrested, and instead needed to file under habeas corpus, a legal remedy open to prisoners. But because he was ticketed rather than imprisoned, his lawyers say that option wasn't open either, effectively denying him a day in court. The city of Brandon, Mississippi, on the other hand, says the restrictions aren't about religious speech, but rather about limiting disturbances caused when he and his group yelled insults like 'Jezebel,' 'nasty,' and 'drunkards' at people passing by. The ordinance restricts demonstrations near the amphitheater but does allow him to preach from a designated 'protest zone,' and has already survived another lawsuit, the city said. The city says the case is about Olivier and his group's 'desire to have their preferred method of protest, without regard for the rights or interests of anyone else.' Olivier's attorneys say he was engaging in respectful and protected speech at the time of his arrest, and the case centers on a key legal issue affecting free speech across the political spectrum. 'Every American has First Amendment rights to free speech; and every American has a right to their day in court,' said Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO for First Liberty Institute, which is representing him along with attorney Allyson Ho of the firm Gibson Dunn. 'Both of these rights were violated for Gabe Olivier. The Supreme Court will now decide whether those rights will be protected for all Americans.' The court is expected to hear arguments in the fall. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
The Hill
39 minutes ago
- The Hill
Putin and Trump discuss Iran and Ukraine in phone call, Kremlin official says
MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues on Thursday in a 'frank and constructive' phone call, the Kremlin said, in their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House. While discussing the situation around Iran and in the broader Middle East, Putin emphasized the need to resolve all differences 'exclusively by political and diplomatic means,' said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs adviser. The leaders agreed that Russian and U.S. officials will maintain contacts on the issue, he added. The United States struck three sites in Iran on June 22, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying Tehran's nuclear program. On the conflict in Ukraine, Ushakov said Trump emphasized his push for a quick halt to the fighting, and Putin voiced Moscow's readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv, noting the previous rounds in Turkey yielded humanitarian results. At the same time, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the 'root causes' of the conflict, Ushakov said. 'Russia will not back down from these goals,' Ushakov told reporters after the call. Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine's push to join NATO and protect Russian speakers in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted that any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and recognize Russia's territorial gains. Thursday's call follows the Pentagon's confirmation that it's pausing shipment of some weapons to Ukraine as it reviews U.S. military stockpiles. The weapons being held up for Ukraine include air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment. The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter. They both requested anonymity to discuss what is being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details. Ushakov said a suspension of some U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine wasn't discussed in the Trump-Putin call. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he may talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension of U.S. weapons deliveries. 'I hope that maybe tomorrow, or close days, these days, I will speak about it with President Trump,' he said. Asked about his expectations from the Trump-Putin call, he said that 'I'm not sure that they have a lot of common ideas, common topics to talk (about), because they are very different people.' The previous publicly known call between Trump and Putin came June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran. The resumed contacts between Trump and Putin appeared to reflect both leaders' interest in mending U.S.-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War amid the conflict in Ukraine. Ushakov said Trump told Putin about his $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill, and the Russian leader wished him success in pursuing his plans and also congratulated the U.S. on the Independence Day holiday. The Kremlin adviser noted the leaders also discussed developments in Syria and expressed interest in pursuing bilateral projects in the energy sector and space exploration, during what he described as 'frank, businesslike and concrete conversation.' Ushakov added that Putin even suggested that the U.S. and Russia could exchange movies promoting 'traditional values shared by us and the Trump administration.' On Tuesday, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct telephone call in almost three years. —- Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Lorne Cook in Aarhus, Denmark, contributed.
