In “Militarized Policing in the Trump Era and Beyond,” De Bruin argues that while militarized policing in the United States long predates Donald Trump’s presidency, the ways in which he used the militarized federal forces he inherited represented a significant departure from prior practice. In particular, she focuses on the different federal responses to Black Lives Matter protests and the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“Trump’s efforts to court police support, and the politicized nature of police deployments against protestors during his time in office, have made police reform all the more challenging,” De Bruin concludes.
The essay is part of a retrospective about the administration of Donald Trump titled “America and the World— the Effects of the Trump Presidency.”
