‘What’s he’s talking about’: Donald Trump contradicted by a governor, a judge, and his own vice president

This morning, President Donald Trump contradicted his own vice president, a federal judge, and the governor of Illinois on the issue of deploying the National Guard. For weeks, there has been speculation about which cities might be next to see a deployment of the National Guard, especially since the White House has already militarized Washington, D.C.

NBC News reported that at an event in Wisconsin, Vice President Vance said, “We want governors and mayors to ask for the help” when asked if governors have the ability to stop a deployment. He added that the president “is not going out there forcing this on anybody,” and that the administration wants to be “invited into Milwaukee” if troops are to be deployed there. He said that this has been the president’s “consistent line from the very beginning”.

But that “consistent line” unraveled quickly when the president told reporters, “We’re going in,” when asked about sending the National Guard into Chicago. He also stated that he has “the right to do it” and has an “obligation to protect this country, and that includes Baltimore”. He added that while he would “love to do it” if the governor of Illinois would call, the administration is “going to do it anyway”.

The president just spat on the words of his VP and the face of all governors

Now, to be fair, this isn’t a new issue for the president. His administration has already been in trouble for its use of the military in Los Angeles, which a federal judge ruled as breaking the law. Jordan Rubin, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that “prohibits the U.S. military from executing domestic laws”. This is a very interesting ruling because it could put a check on the president’s use of the military and act as a reminder that he is not a “national chief of police”.

This is awful for everyone involved, especially the people of Chicago and Illinois. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has made it clear that he opposes the White House’s plan, saying of Trump, “He has no idea what he’s talking about” and that “there is no emergency that warrants deployment of troops”. He is absolutely right to be concerned, and I honestly can’t believe how quickly the president contradicted his own vice president.

It feels like night and day when you compare what Vance said just last week with what the president said just days later. You can’t have two different stories coming from the White House, especially on such a sensitive topic. It makes you wonder what else is going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about.