Donald Trump

==== Concern about a possible coup attempt or military action ====
In December 2020, ''[[Newsweek]]'' reported [[the Pentagon]] was on red alert, and ranking officers had discussed what to do if Trump declared [[martial law]]. The Pentagon responded with quotes from defense leaders that the military has no role in the outcome of elections.<ref>{{cite web|last=Arkin|first=William M.|url=https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-donald-trumps-martial-law-talk-has-military-red-alert-1557056|title=Exclusive: Donald Trump's martial-law talk has military on red alert|date=December 24, 2020 |access-date=September 15, 2021|work=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref>

When Trump moved supporters into positions of power at the Pentagon after the November 2020 election, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [[Mark Milley]] and CIA director [[Gina Haspel]] became concerned about the threat of a possible [[Self-coup|coup]] attempt or military action against China or Iran.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gangel|first1=Jamie|last2=Herb|first2=Jeremy|last3=Cohen|first3=Marshall|last4=Stuart|first4=Elizabeth|last5=Starr|first5=Barbara|author-link5=Barbara Starr|title='They're not going to f**king succeed': Top generals feared Trump would attempt a coup after election, according to new book|url=https://cnn.com/2021/07/14/politics/donald-trump-election-coup-new-book-excerpt/|date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=September 15, 2021|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Breuninger|first=Kevin|date=July 15, 2021|title=Top U.S. Gen. Mark Milley feared Trump would attempt a coup after his loss to Biden, new book says|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/15/mark-milley-feared-coup-after-trump-lost-to-biden-book.html |access-date=September 15, 2021|work=[[CNBC]]}}</ref> Milley insisted that he should be consulted about any military orders from Trump, including the use of nuclear weapons, and he instructed Haspel and NSA director [[Paul Nakasone]] to monitor developments closely.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gangel|first1=Jamie|last2=Herb|first2=Jeremy|last3=Stuart|first3=Elizabeth|title=Woodward/Costa book: Worried Trump could 'go rogue,' Milley took top-secret action to protect nuclear weapons|url=https://cnn.com/2021/09/14/politics/woodward-book-trump-nuclear/|work=[[CNN]]|date=September 14, 2021 |access-date=September 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Schmidt|first=Michael S.|date=September 14, 2021|title=Fears That Trump Might Launch a Strike Prompted General to Reassure China, Book Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/us/politics/peril-woodward-book-trump.html|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 15, 2021}}</ref>