I was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, filming individuals. On that fateful day when police officers were being beaten by individuals seeking to overturn the election results, President Donald Trump did not think it was necessary to send out the National Guard.
But now, he has decided to militarize our capital. On Aug. 16, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster joined in Trump’s efforts by deploying 200 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, this is not only an unnecessary decision but one driven by political aims. Furthermore, it undermines the values of a free, democratic society that the National Guard is supposed to protect.
Our state’s National Guard is only supposed to be used for emergencies and real crises, not at the whim of the governor or president for whatever political aims they have. Unfortunately, McMaster already has a history of using the National Guard for illegitimate purposes, such as when he sent troops down to the Texas-Mexico border in 2023, even though it was unnecessary.
I talked to one National Guard member here in South Carolina, who informed me that the troops did little but sit around. As someone who worked extensively at the border with asylum seekers, I saw this dynamic firsthand.
While this improper use of the National Guard for a political spectacle at the border was bad, what McMaster is doing with the National Guard now by sending them to Washington threatens our republic. It is giving support to an authoritarian movement by the Trump administration to put the military in our streets and turn us into a nation that more closely resembles Russia, China or Venezuela rather than a free democratic republic.
There is, of course, no need for troops in the streets of D.C., just like there were not in the streets of Los Angeles a few months ago. Crime in D.C. is at record lows, but it is not about the crime. It is about control. It is about a show of force by an already increasingly authoritarian administration. National Guard troops did not sign up to be a spectacle for a president, or worse, to help him undermine the Constitution.
When the history books are written, it will not just be Trump himself who is condemned for his attempts at authoritarian control. It will also be those who helped bolster him in that effort, like McMaster. South Carolina, unfortunately, has a long history of undermining the ideals of freedom, equality and justice that the United States is supposed to stand upon, from being the first state to leave the union to being one of the last states to fly the Confederate flag.
We are once again defying the values of our nation by using the National Guard as political pawns to curry favor with a lawless presidency. History will not look kindly on such actions.
- Will McCorkle is a college educator who lives in Summerville. He frequently writes about immigration issues. Have a comment? Send to feedback@charlestoncitypaper.com.
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