The Coup in Disguise: Portland, Quantico, and the Blueprint for a Permanent Military State

A president’s roar...a lawyer’s memo...a general’s nod...then the boots. This isn’t a stunt. It’s a scaffolding...built to survive him.

The Coup in Disguise: Portland, Quantico, and the Blueprint for a Permanent Military State

A president’s roar…a lawyer’s memo…a general’s nod...then the boots.This isn’t a stunt. It’s a scaffolding…built to survive him.

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #566: Saturday, September 27th, 2025.

The Line Just Got Crossed

Let’s quit pretending this is normal.

On one side: a president authorizing “full force” against civilians in an American city…soldiers positioned as the fix for dissent…not the last resort for catastrophe.

On the other: a Defense Secretary playing strongman at Quantico…pulling in brass by the busload…dangling careers over the edge while he recites a “warrior ethos” that reads like a loyalty oath with camouflage.

Individually? Bad.
Together? Blueprint.

If you only see Portland…you’ll call it overreaction.

If you only see Quantico…you’ll call it swagger.

When you see both…and the timing…you see the truth:

A systemic test of whether the U.S. military can be re-tasked for domestic political control and whether anyone with stars on their shoulders will try to stop it.

This is not a forecast. This is a status report.

The Triad: Megaphone…Architect…Enforcer

Authoritarian moves look complicated because they are designed to be. But the cast list is simple:

Trump-The Megaphone:

He names the enemies…sets the emotional weather…and legitimizes force with a TV roar.

Stephen Miller-The Architect:

He turns that roar into rule-shaped paperwork…designations…memos…legal fig leaves…language shifts that launder brutality.

Pete Hegseth-The Enforcer:

He stress-tests obedience inside the military…recodes the culture…and organizes the muscle.

If you’ve been waiting for an instruction manual…here it is. Trump points…Miller drafts…Hegseth deploys. Rinse. Escalate. Normalize. Repeat.