In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman attends a political war game designed to imagine the first full day of a second Trump presidency and the constitutional pressures that could follow.
Through a scenario involving militias, border violence, governors, National Guard units, and the possible use of the Insurrection Act, Ackerman examines how quickly political conflict can become a test of democratic legitimacy.
Constitutional Crisis and Executive Power
Ackerman explores the tension between presidential authority, state power, military command, and the courts, asking whether American institutions could withstand a fast-moving crisis.
Veterans and Democratic Legitimacy
The essay considers the role veterans play in civic life and questions whether military service should be used as a source of political authority after uniformed service ends.
War Games and Political Imagination
At its center, the piece asks whether war games meant to defend democracy might also reveal a deeper problem: a political culture in which neither side fully accepts the other’s right to govern.