Trump 'wants a paramilitary arm' for his 'war with half of America': analysis

President Donald Trump views himself as a "wartime president," according to a new article in The Bulwark, but his enemy isn't a rogue state — it's the American people themselves.

In an article published Tuesday, Bulwark Editor Jonathan V. Last wrote, "I don’t think there’s any way to read yesterday except as President Trump deciding that with the Republican party fully subservient to him, he can subjugate the other remaining power centers in American life. He can finally be a wartime president. It’s just that he’s going to war against America."

Last wrote that Trump's war with America is unprecedented, "Or at least: We haven’t had a president view Americans this way since Reconstruction."

Trump made it clear during the inauguration that he's "governing not for all Americans—and not even just for the benefit of 'his' voters—but as an attack on the half of America that opposed him," Last wrote.

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According to the article, Trump "believes that Democratic voters should not be bargained with or bribed, but intimidated, punished, subdued—and rendered unable to oppose him in his quest for total power."

And Trump is going to use all the power at his presidential fingertips to ensure everyone falls in line. This includes using the courts, government bureaucracy, and mob rule to get what he wants. Last wrote that Trump released the J6 rioters, even the violent ones, for a purpose: "The message is unambiguous: Trump wants supporters who engage in street violence on the loose. He wants a paramilitary arm for which he has plausible deniability."

Last continued, "Freeing those convicted of violence is a go-ahead signal for future violent acts and an implicit promise that Trump will take care of those who fight on his behalf."

The target of Trump's power campaign is anyone who lives in a blue state, Last wrote. "Trump understands that blue states are the last bastions of meaningful popular opposition to his rule, so he will use the federal government to subdue them. That’s what deportations—and tariffs—are for. These are executive powers which can be used in highly-targeted ways to hurt on local economies."

So, "If you live in a blue state, President Trump is going to use the power of the federal government to make your life harder."

Read The Bulwark article here.