Trump Signals Greater Use of Military in U.S. Cities, Warning of ‘War From Within’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled that he would make greater use of the U.S. military to quell disturbances in Democratic-run cities across the United States, warning of a “war from within” and comparing domestic threats to foreign enemies.

“The ones that are run by the radical left Democrats... what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places. And we're going to straighten them out one by one. This is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room,” he said in a speech to military leaders. “That's a war too. It's a war from within.”

Trump’s comments were delivered in a speech to almost 800 generals, admirals and senior enlisted advisors who had traveled to a military base in Quantico, Virginia, from around the world at short notice on the orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Read more: Trump Sends Troops to Portland, Authorizes ‘Full Force, If Necessary’

In a deeply political address, the president criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, railed against “radical left lunatics,” and announced he would make use of the military more frequently for domestic purposes.

“We should use some of the dangerous cities and training grounds” for the military, Trump said. He added that he’s given an order to create military “quick reaction forces” to “help quell civil disturbances.” Deploying the military for civilian law enforcement would violate the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

“We are under invasion from within,” he said, “no different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways, because they don't wear uniforms.”

Trump's crackdown in American cities

The meeting comes amid concern over Trump's increasing use of the military for domestic purposes in his second term. In recent months, he has deployed troops to cities across the country, raising concerns about the stifling of dissent against his unpopular government.

Trump announced on Saturday that he had directed the Pentagon to send troops to “protect” Portland, Oregon, adding that he was authorizing “full force, if necessary.”

In June, Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to quell immigration protests—a move that was later deemed illegal by a federal judge. Then in August, he deployed the National Guard and federal agencies to Washington, D.C., and federalized the police force ostensibly to combat crime, even as crime had been falling in recent years.

It also comes as the Trump Administration is launching a widespread crackdown on what it describes as “left-wing terrorism” in the wake of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. That has involved declaring Antifa a terrorist organization and directing federal agencies to investigate and disrupt liberal philanthropic organizations.

Trump's comments drew criticism from lawmakers and civil liberty groups.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, called Trump's speech “divisive and corrosive.”

“His reckless suggestion that American cities be used as ‘training grounds’ for U.S. troops is a dangerous assault on our democracy, treating our own communities as war zones and our citizens as enemies,” Reed said in a statement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X: “This speech should terrify anyone who cares about our country. Declaring war on our nation’s cities and using our troops as political pawns is what dictators do. This man cares about nothing but his own ego and power.”

Naureen Shah, director of government affairs of the Equality Division at the American Civil Liberties Union, called Trump's speech “dangerous.”

“Military troops must not police us, let alone be used as a tool to suppress the President’s critics," she said in a statement. “In cities across the country, the president’s federal deployments are already creating conflict where there is none and instilling profound fear in people who are simply trying to live their lives and exercise their constitutional rights. Our country and democracy deserve far better than this,” she added.

Throughout the speech, Trump repeatedly sought to justify his crackdown on what he perceived to be his domestic enemies.

“Our history is filled with military heroes who took on all enemies, foreign and domestic,” he said. “That's what the oath says, foreign and domestic.”

“Many of our leaders used the military to keep peace. Now they like to say, Oh, you're not allowed to use the military,” he added. 

When Trump started the speech, none of the hundreds of command officers applauded, keeping with a tradition of not applauding political leaders in order to show that the military’s role is set apart from American politics. Trump said he’d never walked into a room so silent. “If you want to applaud, you can applaud,” he told the officers. “If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room—of course, there goes your rank and your future. You just feel nice and loose, okay, because we’re all on the same team.”

Trump also used the speech to criticize his political opponents.

“Biden let people come in from prisons, mental institutions, drug dealers, murderers,” Trump said. “They did not treat you with respect. They're Democrats, they never do,” he added.

"You'll never see four years like we had with Biden and a group of incompetent people that ran this country," he said.

Trump has received criticism for politicizing the military in the past. He delivered a highly political speech in June to a crowd of uniformed soldiers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, in which he called on the crowd to boo Biden and attacked "radical left lunatic" politicians.

Hegseth's new policies

Prior to Trump’s arrival, Hegseth outlined several new policies and standards for the military that are in line with Trump’s agenda. He called for implementing a “highest male standard” for combatants, dispelling “woke garbage,” and telling generals that they should resign if they disagree with his agenda. This is the end, he said, of politically correct leadership.

“Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading and we lost our way. We became the ‘Woke Department,’” Hegseth said. “But not anymore.”

“An entire generation of generals and admirals were told that they must parrot the insane fallacy that our diversity is our strength," he said.

Hegseth referenced the more than a dozen senior generals whom he fired at the beginning of his tenure as Secretary of Defense, many of whom were people of color and women.

He also said that the Defense Department will undertake a “full review” of bullying and hazing rules to “empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing,” arguing that the definition of hazing has been “weaponized” to undercut commanders.

“If that makes me toxic, so be it,” he said

Hegseth outlined stringent physicality and dress standards that were not intended to prevent women from serving, but it “could be the result.”

“If women can make it excellent, if not, it is what it is,” he said.