Is President Trump working to build his own personal army?
By Amy Goodman and Radley Balko, Democracy Now!
Investigative reporter Radley Balko responds to Trump’s new executive order for a “standing National Guard quick reaction force” that the president can deploy at will. Trump has “always expressed envy for dictators and authoritarians overseas who have forces that they can deploy to do their own sort of personal bidding, whether it’s putting down protests or going after political opponents,” says Balko, who calls the order “a really dangerous development.”

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe
Recent Posts
Nigerian Village Bombed by Trump Has ‘No Known History’ of Anti-Christian Terrorism, Locals Say
December 28, 2025
Take Action Now “Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of…
How Effective Are Protests? Historians Say: Very.
December 27, 2025
Take Action Now Protests change the protesters, their communities and the nation. From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass…
The United States’ Hidden History Of Regime Change—Revisited
December 26, 2025
Take Action Now The truculent trio—Trump, Hegseth, and Rubio—do Venezuela.By Barbara Koeppel, The Nation Since the early 20th century, the United…
The “President Of Peace” Prepares For War
December 23, 2025
Take Action Now The Donroe Doctrine Hits HomeBy William D. Hartung, Tom Dispatch Earlier this month, the Trump administration released its new…




