WASHINGTON \u2014 Campaigning in Iowa this year, Donald Trump said he was prevented during his presidency from using the military to quell violence in primarily Democratic cities and states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calling New York City and Chicago \u201ccrime dens,\u201d the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination told his audience, \u201cThe next time, I\u2019m not waiting. One of the things I did was let them run it and we\u2019re going to show how bad a job they do,\u201d he said. \u201cWell, we did that. We don\u2019t have to wait any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has not spelled out precisely how he might use the military during a second term, although he and his advisers have suggested they would have wide latitude to call up units. While deploying the military regularly within the country\u2019s borders would be a departure from tradition, the former president already has signaled an aggressive agenda if he wins, from mass deportations to travel bans imposed on certain Muslim-majority countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A law first crafted in the nation\u2019s infancy would give Trump as commander in chief almost unfettered power to do so, military and legal experts said in a series of interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Insurrection Act allows presidents to call on reserve or active-duty military units to respond to unrest in the states, an authority that is not reviewable by the courts. One of its few guardrails merely requires the president to request that the participants disperse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe principal constraint on the president\u2019s use of the Insurrection Act is basically political, that presidents don\u2019t want to be the guy who sent tanks rolling down Main Street,\u201d said Joseph Nunn, a national security expert with the Brennan Center for Justice. \u201cThere\u2019s not much really in the law to stay the president\u2019s hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesman for Trump\u2019s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment about what authority Trump might use to pursue his plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n