President-elect Donald Trump nominated a third general for a cabinet post on Wednesday, selecting retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
In addition to Kelly, retired Gens. Mike Flynn (national security adviser) and James “Mad Dog” Mattis (secretary of defense) are among the military minds Trump has tapped for his incoming administration.
Members of the media and other liberals are upset that Trump wants to hire so many generals, and have expressed concern that this amounts to a military coup or “junta,” a word that typically refers to a military government that rules after removing the previous government by force, not via democratic election.
But “junta” is a fun word to say, and it sounds pretty sinister, so many people are taking advantage of the opportunity to use it in their posts on social media platforms such as Twitter.
Three generals and maybe a fourth. Can we just cut to the chase and call ourselves a junta?
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) December 7, 2016
How many generals do you need in government before you technically become a junta? https://t.co/cGUJse64M3
— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) December 7, 2016
Junta or administration? Trump picks retired generals to run key American agencieshttps://t.co/0AS4rio7Ds
— Thomas Watkins (@thomaswatkins) December 8, 2016
very disturbed that Trump did not put generals in charge of education, environment and housing. What kind of junta is this???
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) December 8, 2016
If one were to stage a coup…, taking over a government and inserting military generals in office, Trump is doing a pretty clear job of it.
— Bryan William Jones (@BWJones) December 8, 2016
With the amount of generals #donaldtrump is appointing to his government he's not creating a Cabinet but a Junta. https://t.co/hyl7JI3YWT
— Harry Leslie Smith (@Harryslaststand) December 8, 2016
With all these generals, Trump's cabinet is starting to look a lot like a military junta. https://t.co/f946O3sbw9 pic.twitter.com/zCgVO5WcQv
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) December 7, 2016
The generals & billionaires #Trump is gathering around him may do a great job, but historians may see more "junta" than "administration."
— Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) December 7, 2016
Trump's hiring generals like he's about declare war on the galaxy.
— Geronimo on BPM (@GeronimoBPM) December 8, 2016
Some have pointed out that the word “junta” was not thrown around as frequently, if at all, when President Obama appointed three generals to serve in his administration.
General hypocrisy.
Obama appoints 3 generals (Jones, Shinsheki, Blair).
Cool.
Trump appoints 3 generals (Mattis, Kelly, Flynn). Concerning.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) December 8, 2016
Flashback: Obama had three 4-stars in his Cabinet and no one seemed to mind | @eScarry @dcexaminer @dailyondefense https://t.co/re3KV1mcd3 pic.twitter.com/BWHVfzIiYG
— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) December 8, 2016
Meanwhile, Trump’s biggest fans are less concerned about Trump’s cabinet selections.
With all of these Generals being added to Trump's Cabinet he is sending the clear message – we are here to kick butt, get ready.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) December 7, 2016
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