Trump’s Dress Rehearsal for Tyranny

Trump’s National Guard stunt isn’t about safety; it’s a test run for tyranny. If you’re not alarmed yet, you’re not paying attention. The crackdown starts now.

Guest article by Michael Cohen

Let’s not kid ourselves. When Donald Trump says he’s made a “great decision,” you better start worrying, because it’s never great for democracy, the Constitution, or anyone not wearing a MAGA hat and carrying a Trump Bible they’ve never read.
This week, Trump deployed the National Guard in response to protests that, let’s be honest, were nothing close to a national emergency. There were no federal buildings under siege, no cities in flames. But that’s not the point, is it? This wasn’t about public safety. This was a political experiment dressed up in camouflage. A test run. A dress rehearsal. And like all things Trump, it’s not just dangerous; it’s calculated.

My Substack community, what we witnessed wasn’t a strongman reacting to chaos. It was a wannabe authoritarian manufacturing it, then using the power of the state to flex on the public, the press, and anyone else who might dare challenge him. This is what he promised on the campaign trail: more power to the executive branch. Less oversight. Fewer checks. No balances. He called it “retribution.” What we’re seeing now is the groundwork for exactly that.

The deployment of the National Guard, unprovoked by real threat, isn’t just about this moment. It’s about the next one. It’s about setting precedent. What happens when these tactics are deployed not in blue-state urban centers but in red states where governors fall in line and sheriffs salute? What happens when this isn’t about protesters at all, but voters, poll workers, journalists—or, God forbid, political opponents?
This is Trump’s litmus test. A field test of power. And he knows exactly what he’s doing. Push the rules of engagement now, gauge the public response, and refine the playbook for when the stakes are higher. And if you think he won’t use this strategy during a contested election or a Congressional hearing meltdown, you haven’t been paying attention. Or you’ve only been watching Fox News.

The real danger isn’t the soldiers in the streets; it’s the normalization of it. It’s the idea that presidents can unilaterally call in armed troops whenever they feel “threatened,” which for Trump means anytime someone criticizes him on Truth Social or runs a negative chyron on MSNBC. When executive power is abused for personal vengeance, it’s no longer leadership; it’s a regime.

Remember, this is the same guy who cleared Lafayette Square with tear gas and rubber bullets so he could wave a Bible like a prop in front of a church. He’s always used power performatively, not responsibly. But now, in a second term, with the Department of Justice gutted, the courts packed, and a GOP Congress licking his boots like it’s happy hour at Mar-a-Lago, there’s nothing performative about it. It’s real. It’s escalating. And it’s being tested on American soil, against American citizens.

What’s worse is the silence. Where are the Republicans who used to scream about federal overreach? Where are the “Don’t Tread on Me” patriots? They’ve traded in their yellow flags for red ones—bright, crimson, and soaked in hypocrisy.

And let’s talk about red states, because that’s where this is heading. Trump doesn’t need to federalize dissent when he’s got state legislatures and governors already salivating at the idea of quelling “woke mobs” or “Antifa agitators.” All he has to do is light the match. They’ll handle the fire.

Deploying the National Guard under vague pretenses in friendly territory is strategic. It’s safer. It sets the stage. It lets Trump test how far he can push it before people push back. And if there’s no outrage now, if this moment gets buried under another avalanche of Trumpian chaos, then what’s to stop the next deployment from being bigger, badder, and aimed directly at political resistance?

Let me be crystal clear: this isn’t law and order; it’s fear and control. This is what happens when a failed reality star is handed the nuclear codes and decides he wants to play dictator. Trump isn’t restoring peace. He’s rehearsing repression. And it’s only the beginning.

We’re entering a very dark chapter in American history, one where the presidency is weaponized not just rhetorically, but militarily. We used to talk about creeping authoritarianism. Trump’s not creeping anymore; he’s sprinting, boots on the ground, bayonet fixed.

And the scariest part? He told us this was coming. He said it out loud. He broadcast it onstage, on air, and online. The media dismissed it as bluster. His allies laughed it off as campaign bravado. But now the joke’s over. The curtain’s up. And the play has begun.

So ask yourself: What happens the next time he doesn’t like the results of an election? What happens when a journalist publishes a leak? What happens when we protest that?
Because if we don’t draw the line here, if we don’t recognize this for what it is, there won’t be a line left to draw.

And that “great decision” Trump bragged about? It might just be the worst decision we’ve ever let a president get away with.

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