“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” – misattributed to Vladamir Lenin

The above quote, which has been misattributed to Lenin, has been repeating in my head a lot these past three+ months. It describes the whirlwind of changes we have since the Trump regime was swept into power. From an endless stream of executive orders to the near complete dissolution of the old world order, it indeed feels like decades have already gone by. And this is perhaps what makes the next few weeks so harrowing.

When Trump took the seat of the American imperium, one of his first executive orders was to declare a national emergency at the southern border. With this, he demanded that the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security advise him on if and how he could invoke the Insurrection Act. That report is due on the 20th of April, which is incidentally Hitler’s birthday.

In section 6B of the executive order it reads:

“Within 90 days of the date of this proclamation, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a joint report to the President about the conditions at the southern border of the United States and any recommendations regarding additional actions that may be necessary to obtain complete operational control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807.”

Trump wanted to do this during his previous role as president, but was stymied by the Secretary of Defense at the time, Jim Mattis. He also openly pondered if protestors could be shot. This time around, he has stacked his cabinet with yes men and women. Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and JD Vance would never defy the dictates of the president. And they are the ones who will deliver him his options a few weeks from now.

The Insurrection Act would allow the president to use the military on domestic soil to quell “civil unrest.” And this vague terminology could be applied to anything from campus protests to demonstrations like on Saturday of this past weekend to bake sales at your local progressive church. He could fulfill his campaign promise of sending troops into “Democratic” cities which he has painted as being filled with “illegals,” criminals and “leftist radicals,” rounding up anyone he deems a threat. Painting them as “terrorists,” gang members, communists or perverts. No protests. No rallies. No gatherings. It would be a move directly out of the fascist playbook.

If he is advised on April 20th that the US is under threat, it would not be inconceivable for him to crackdown on the press, social media and on anyone who opposes the regime, from scientists to college professors to librarians. It would become a matter of “national security.” And corporations will almost always comply. Just recently, American historian Heather Cox Richardson was all but purged from Facebook as she openly criticized Trump.

The regime has already implemented breathtaking actions at stifling dissent on university campuses. Professors have fled to Canada. Border police continue to harass tourists and visiting delegates. Ice has already disappeared people for simply expressing opposition to US support for a genocide. It has also detained and deported hundreds without due process. And it has done all of this while boasting about it and promising even more.

If this regime is gleeful about sending people to a forced labour camp in El Salvador (see: concentration camps) and the complete annihilation of the Palestinian people, does anyone really think they would have a problem implementing the Insurrection Act and brutally repressing American citizens? As Trump decimates the economy, unrest would certainly grow. Does anyone really think he would not want to suppress this with every tool he has? And If he is comfortable saying undocumented immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our nation,” does anyone think he would not broaden that to everyone who opposes him?

To say time is running out would be an understatement. Fascism has arrived. And as Democrats hide, align themselves with them, or make meaningless 25 hour speeches that block nothing, it grows unchecked. It may have been decades in the making, but it has only taken a few weeks for it to establish itself. It isn’t in complete control… yet. But if there is no mass movement to stop it, it will proceed toward a full takeover. 

Kenn Orphan, April 2025