Trump Keeps Using “National Security” to Do What He Wants
President Donald Trump has a favorite justification for everything he does: “It’s a national security matter.” After 9/11, the United States built a vast, powerful, and generally unchecked national security apparatus. Twenty-five years later, Trump is using agencies and emergency powers that sprung up in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks—and have never been abolished […]
President Donald Trump, throughout his two terms, frequently invoked "national security" as the rationale for his actions. After the 9/11 attacks, the United States established a powerful and largely unregulated national security apparatus, which Donald Trump has continued to utilize to target domestic dissenters and perceived adversaries.
His administration has leveraged emergency powers to challenge various groups and industries, arguing they pose national security threats. These include Japanese cars, Chinese telecom equipment, the gay hookup app Grindr, offshore wind turbines, coal plants, hyperscale data centers, union protections for federal workers, musical instruments, and even Elon Musk's Grok chatbot in Memphis.
Critics argue Trump's use of national security as an excuse to expand surveillance and start wars is a continuation of the tactics employed by his predecessors.
Written by urgent.news from Mother Jones's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
