Says president could use armed forces as his private army to target Americans
MSNBC launched into wild speculation Friday night, suggesting President Donald Trump could use the U.S. military as his private army to target Americans.
The Pentagon approved the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the U.S. Southern Command to ramp up pressure on Venezuela and combat transnational cartel activity across South America. While discussing Trump’s order on “Deadline: White House,” MSNBC host Alicia Menendez suggested it could violate international law and framed it as a potential abuse of military power.
“Even the fact that there are officers who are having that conversation tells you about the five-alarm fire that we are in, because the Trump administration claims they can lawfully kill people simply because they are suspected of drug trafficking like enemy troops, instead of arresting them for prosecution. Does that match your understanding of the law?” Menendez asked guest Tom Nichols, a staff writer for The Atlantic.
“No, not American law and not international treaties to which we are a signatory,” Nichols responded. “The American president has said, ‘I can point the US military any place I want and kill anyone I want.
