ABSTRACT
In the midst of the largest public protests in 50 years, widespread concern about the polarisation of politics, police brutality and racism, and fear about the usurpation of democratic institutions in the United States, the country last month experienced an extraordinary affirmation of military faithfulness to the Constitution. It was a striking assertion of constitutional propriety on the military's part, and arguably the most important episode in American civil-military relations since Harry Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur for insubordination in 1951. A commander-in-chief attempting to exercise his statutory authority and cynically manoeuvre the military into endorsing his policy choices was instead deserted by civilian and military leaders who committed themselves to the higher authority of the Constitution and repudiated the president's policies. Trump did find other outlets for utilising the military for partisan purposes, opposing the renaming of army bases in the southern United States that currently memorialise secessionist generals.
