June 4th. For much of the world, it’s a grim anniversary. The day China sent tanks and soldiers to crush thousands of peaceful protesters in Tiananmen Square. The day a government turned its guns on its own people to stop them from demanding freedom. The day we all saw a lone man stand in front of a column of tanks—and realized how fragile, and how brave, democracy really is.

Now fast forward to 2025. President Donald Trump—restored to power through the most contested, legally dubious election in modern American history—celebrates his 79th birthday on June 14. Conveniently, that same week marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. What better occasion, his advisors suggested, for a massive parade down Pennsylvania Avenue? Tanks. Fighter jets. Thousands of troops. Flyovers and fireworks. MAGA flags fluttering. “Salute to America” rebranded as a full-blown show of strength.

But what if it’s more than a parade? What if it’s a Trojan horse?

What if those tanks, instead of rolling back to their bases, park themselves around the White House? What if the troops aren’t just there for pageantry—but are there to stay? What if the real plan was to use the celebration to establish a permanent perimeter around Trump’s seat of power—just like China’s Communist Party did in 1989?

It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.

Trump has spent his political life admiring authoritarian strongmen. He’s praised Vladimir Putin. Envied Kim Jong-un’s control. Admired Xi Jinping’s power. And, in a moment that should’ve stopped the nation cold, he even called the Chinese Communist Party’s massacre at Tiananmen Square a show of “strength.” That’s not a misquote. That’s who he is.

And now, in his second term, Trump has made clear that this time, he’s playing for keeps.

The Hegseth Factor: Purging the Pentagon, Promoting the Loyal

Let’s talk about Pete Hegseth.

Once a fringe Fox News contributor and Army National Guard officer, Hegseth now holds the keys to the Pentagon as Trump’s Secretary of Defense. He’s long signaled where his true loyalties lie—not with the Constitution, but with the man he sees as the embodiment of American greatness.

What if Hegseth has been quietly conducting a loyalty purge at the Pentagon—hunting for so-called “traitors” who refused to go along with Trump’s power grabs? What if he’s been offering promotions and promises to officers willing to forsake their constitutional oath in favor of personal loyalty to Trump?

That might sound like conspiracy theory—until you look at how authoritarian regimes around the world have secured military obedience.

In China, General Xu Qinxian refused to lead his troops into Beijing on June 4, 1989. He was court-martialed and imprisoned. Others who obeyed the order to crack down on their fellow citizens were promoted, praised, and protected.

In Turkey, after a failed 2016 coup attempt, President Erdogan arrested or fired thousands of military officers and judges, replacing them with loyalists. The military, once a secular bulwark, became a personal security force.

In Nazi Germany, Hitler surrounded himself with generals who swore personal allegiance to him, not the German state. Promotions flowed to the obedient. Dissenters were sidelined—or executed.

It’s a common playbook. You hollow out the institutions. Replace competence with loyalty. Then you use those corrupted institutions to hold onto power.

So what if Pete Hegseth is doing just that?

What if officers who resisted Trump’s illegal orders in his first term—like Mark Milley, who famously opposed deploying troops against American civilians during the 2020 protests—were blacklisted?

What if those who pledged loyalty to the Constitution were branded as “globalists” or “deep state” enemies?

What if, instead, fast promotions were handed out to younger officers who showed absolute loyalty to Trumpism? What if they were told: support the plan, and you’ll go from colonel to general. Maybe even Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

That’s how authoritarian takeovers work—not with a single dramatic act, but with a steady erosion of norms, replaced by fealty.

When Tanks Become a Wall

Trump’s June 14 parade was supposed to end with a flyover and fireworks. But what if it ended with a ring of tanks parked around the White House? What if the military hardware didn’t roll out—but dug in?

What if, come Monday morning, June 16, Americans woke up to find their capital locked down?

Trump’s loyalists would call it “necessary security.” They’d spin it as protecting the president from “radical leftists,” “Antifa terrorists,” “illegal immigrants,” or whatever imaginary threat Fox News is promoting that week.

But make no mistake: if the tanks stay, it’s the first act of a self-coup.

And here’s the scary truth: self-coups by elected leaders work more often than not. Peru. Venezuela. Hungary. Russia. Turkey. Once the military backs the strongman, the courts and legislatures crumble.

Trump has already tested the waters.

In 2020, he tried to deploy active-duty troops against Black Lives Matter protesters. He cleared Lafayette Square with tear gas so he could hold a Bible upside-down in front of a church.

In 2021, he incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol and disrupt the certification of an election he lost.

Now, in 2025, he’s running the government like a mafia boss. Firing civil servants. Replacing experts with cronies. Pardoning political allies. Punishing judges and journalists. Rewriting history textbooks. Mandating loyalty oaths.

And after four years of lies about “rigged elections,” tens of millions of Americans are primed to accept military crackdowns in the name of “patriotism.”

The Real Question: Who Will Stand Up?

If tanks stay on June 16, it will be too late to stop them with a protest march.

The question will shift from “Will Trump do it?” to “Who will stand up to him?”

Will state governors refuse federal overreach?

Will military commanders disobey unconstitutional orders?

Will federal judges issue emergency injunctions—and will anyone enforce them?

Will Americans flood the streets in nonviolent protest—or stay silent out of fear?

And will the media report the truth, or cave to pressure, intimidation, and censorship?

These aren’t abstract hypotheticals anymore. These are real scenarios being gamed out by national security experts, legal scholars, and democracy advocates.

Because we’ve seen this movie before. In 1989 Beijing. In 2016 Istanbul. In 1933 Berlin.

It always starts with a parade…

It always starts with a strongman demanding loyalty…

It always ends with bloodshed—unless enough people say no.

We Still Have a Choice

We don’t have to wait for the tanks to stay parked.

We can sound the alarm now.

We can demand that Congress, the Pentagon, and the courts reassert their independence.

We can organize mass civic resistance if lines are crossed.

We can remind every officer in uniform that their oath is not to Donald Trump—but to the Constitution.

And we can name the danger for what it is: a creeping authoritarian coup disguised as patriotism.

Tiananmen Square is not just a tragic memory. It’s a warning.

Because what happened in Beijing can happen here.

The only question left is: What will we do to stop it?

PS: The man in the video with the dangerous shopping bags was later identified by the Chinese secret police, arrested, tried, and executed for his horrendous crime against the State. This state of affairs is not far away if we don’t stop Trump.