Governor Larry Rhoden has proudly shipped 12 members of the South Dakota National Guard to participate in Dictator Trump’s fake-emergency military occupation of our nation’s capital:
Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced the mobilization of 12 South Dakota National Guardsmen to support ongoing operations in Washington D.C. at the request of President Donald J. Trump.
“South Dakota stands in solidarity with President Trump and his efforts to Make America Safe Again,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “With the National Guard’s help, President Trump has restored law and order to our nation’s capital – and our guardsmen will help keep it that way. We will not sit on the sidelines while crime threatens the safety of our families” [Governor’s Office, press release, 2025.08.31].
But wait: it sounds like they actually are sitting on the sidelines, not stopping crime or restoring law and order, but just doing PR for the President’s latest Big Lie:
The 12 public affairs guardsmen are from the 129th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment based out of Rapid City. They will serve in a public affairs capacity in the joint information command center [Governor’s Office, 2025.08.31].
Serve in a public affairs capacity… so, churning out press releases? Spinning Trump’s million-dollar-a-day deployment of soldiers to pick up trash? Explaining why we send troops to patrol the National Mall instead of hiring more actual police to patrol neighborhoods where crimes actually happen?
Perhaps South Dakotans can take some comfort in knowing these 12 South Dakota part-time soldiers are just flacking and not engaging directly in egregious violations of due process and civil rights. But even if all they do is issue press releases, these soldiers and their commander-in-chief, Governor Rhoden, are still complicit in promoting America’s decline into fascism.
Here in town, like many places I imagine, the school has taken a group of high schoolers to DC every summer. So which is it? Were we putting them in harm’s way and those smiling pictures were a lie? Or is Trump full of crap?
Fascism depends on a never-ending supply of liars.
Pull your head out Larry.
3 more years left of this bs… I don’t think we’ll make it.
Sad thing is that many people don’t see the danger with deploying troops for law enforcement inside the US.
Republicans/MAGA/whatever have lost their minds.
Thune and Rounds know better. I won’t even discuss Opie Johnson. Are they cowards or do they believe the tripe from this convicted felon/adjudicated sex offender? Thune’s father fought for American ideals during WW II, and now his son is afraid to stand up to a loud mouthed bully? How do you suppose Harold felt just before launching his fighter every day to face enemy combatants? Definitely more moxie than sonny boy. And Rounds? He is on the armed services committee and this is the best use of military, ON AMERICAN SOIL? Say nothing to offend the Big Guy, OK fellas? Geezlouise!
False flags, assassinations, disaster capitalism, endless war: anyone who believes America is safer because of a military filled with mercenaries is delusional.
https://the1a.org/segments/donald-trump-and-the-national-guard/
On this and many other threads, the theme is so common. A liar tells lies, he has power, so liars line up to tell his lies. The scary resemblance to religion is not lost on me. This is truly a cult, a religion, a way of life. No mater how badly the failure, the excuses are made well ahead of time. Pulling bases from “Blue: states to be in “Red” states and inflating the number of jobs that go with it…one lie after another and the complicit are right behind him, at all times. making faces and laughing when appropriate. I am sick of writing letters to my Senators and Rep. None listen and are fully complicit in everything that DT dumps. And that doesn’t matter here. I was in that party and had real hopes that we could jump back well before Reagon and not to this. Jan 6th was one of the worst days ever…and we shine it on. I am rambling now, but darn it, I am so tired of the creeps in charge.
Larry gives them a double tap of 29 days each deployment to avoid having to pay the troops their full benefits of the actual 60 deployment. Well played Larry, screwed the troops just for fun.
Jerry, I read about Trump screwing the Guard & wondered if Gov Rhoden would do the same. I’m not surprised since he makes the comment that South Dakota stands with Trump. So not true for many of us.
Bernadette, as time goes on with both administrations, I think you will see more of the depths of shallowness the guv and trump will go. The economy is in labor recession at present, so that is strike one. Farmers have no markets to sell their harvest, so that is strike two. So standing with trump means you have fat ankles and bruised hands, so strike three, Off we go to the dugout to contemplate the maga-nflation.