Trump’s militarized response to dissent has turned American cities into test zones for authoritarian rule.
Edwin Eisendrath warns that ICE’s violent overreach in Chicago is “out of control on purpose,” meant to provoke unrest.
Susan Demas draws a direct line from Abbott’s National Guard deployments to Stephen Miller’s dream of invoking the Insurrection Act.
Both see this moment as proof that democracy dies not in darkness—but in daylight, with applause from the faithful.
“If there’s a riot in Chicago, it’s a riot caused by the federal government,” Edwin said, describing a city under siege, where ICE snipers fire on priests and gas grenades fall from helicopters — all designed to manufacture chaos Trump can use to justify martial law. This isn’t about policing or safety; it’s a deliberate campaign of state coercion meant to crush resistance and test how far Americans will bend before breaking.
Susan connected that violence to the larger strategy coming out of the White House. Trump, she argued, is reviving Civil War logic — painting blue cities as enemy territory and red states as the “real America.” Abbott’s troops, Pam Bondi’s testimony, Stephen Miller’s obsession with the Insurrection Act — it all points to a president who sees federal power as a weapon, not a duty. “He’s Louis XIV,” Susan said. “He believes he is the state.” What’s unfolding in Chicago isn’t a sideshow — it’s the template for 2026.
The danger isn’t only in the streets; it’s in the normalization. Americans watch federal troops terrorize neighborhoods, and too many convince themselves it’s someone else’s problem. As Edwin reminded viewers, the occupation of Chicago isn’t a local story — it’s a national test. “When one state’s troops march in to subjugate another,” he said, “we no longer have a country.”
Tune in for the full conversation now and don’t miss Edwin’s weekly show on Lincoln Square, It’s the Democracy, Stupid!
