President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video portraying himself as America’s eternal ruler just hours after publicly weighing the use of the Insurrection Act to send National Guard troops into San Francisco — a striking escalation in his rhetoric about extending his grip on power amid nationwide “No Kings” protests challenging his defiance of constitutional limits.
The latest provocation from the White House has intensified concerns about Trump’s growing comfort with testing constitutional limits — and his willingness to blur the line between political theater and open threats of authoritarian control, underscored by his suggestion of using military force to preserve his rule.
Speaking earlier in the day on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Trump said he was “considering” invoking the Insurrection Act to quell unrest and “restore order” in cities run by Democrats, naming San Francisco as his next target, according to the Independent.
He accused local officials of resisting federal crime-fighting efforts and described himself as “the chief law enforcement officer of the United States.”
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“Don’t forget, and I haven’t used it, but don’t forget: I can use the Insurrection Act. Fifty percent of the presidents, almost, have used that. And that’s unquestioned power,” Trump said. “I choose not to. I’d rather do this [without invoking it]. But I’m met constantly by fake politicians, politicians that think that they – you know, it’s not a part of the radical left movement to have safety.”
Only 15 presidents have invoked the Insurrection Act since 1807 — far short of Trump’s claim that “almost half” have done so. The act grants the president power to deploy federal troops domestically during emergencies, but only under specific legal circumstances and typically at a state’s request. Trump’s proposal to unilaterally deploy the National Guard to a Democratic-led city like San Francisco would almost certainly trigger a legal and constitutional showdown.
In the interview, Trump described San Francisco as a city “gone wrong” that had “gone woke,” adding, “But we’re going to go to San Francisco, and we’re going to make it great.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom quickly fired back through a spokesperson: “California will resist any effort by Donald Trump to militarize another American city for his own vanity and deranged fantasies. California doesn’t want or need the National Guard to police its streets. In this state, we take care of our own communities — unlike Trump who can’t even pay the soldiers under his command.”
City data shows that San Francisco’s overall crime rate is near a 20-year low, though some neighborhoods, including the Tenderloin district, continue to struggle with drug use and homelessness. In 2023, the Tenderloin averaged more than four reports of violent crime per day. While those figures have been declining, the area remains a flashpoint in national debates about crime and urban decay.
The discussion over military intervention came amid nationwide “No Kings” protests on Saturday, in which millions marched in cities across the country against Trump’s expanding use of federal power and immigration raids. Despite the massive scale of the demonstrations, no major violence was reported, however several arrests were reported involving right-wing disrupters. Ahead of the marches, the White House had labeled the protesters “far-left radicals and terrorists.”
By Sunday evening, Trump appeared to mock those same demonstrators online — posting a digitally altered video showing himself piloting a fighter jet and dropping excrement on crowds in Times Square. Hours later, another post appeared on his Truth Social account: an AI-generated clip, showing Trump presiding over a MAGA empire that endures thousands of years into the future.
Set to Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” the video shows mock TIME magazine covers ticking through election years — 2028, 2032, 2048 — before jumping to the year 90,000. The final title card flashes “EEEEEE” and “4EVA,” implying Trump’s rule will never end. The phony video originated from a meme version of a 2018 TIME cover about “Trumpism,” and Trump, now 79, reposted it without comment.
“Is he expecting to live to 120?” one user asked on Threads.
Over on X, however, many of Trump’s followers celebrated the video. “I’m good with that,” one supporter wrote. “We need to clone him!” another person said. A third added, “They’re terrified because they’re afraid Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are gonna create a way to keep Trump alive forever.”
The reactions underscored how Trump’s followers continue to embrace rhetoric that flouts the constitution. Trump has repeatedly teased the idea of running again in 2028 despite the two-term limit imposed by the 22nd Amendment. His campaign store now sells “Trump 2028” hats, and aides have shared photos of the president posing with lawmakers wearing them.
When biographer Michael Wolff told The Daily Beast that a Trump third term could be a “very real possibility,” the White House responded by sharing a smiling photo of Trump surrounded by those same hats. On his podcast Inside Trump’s Head, Wolff warned that “an authoritarian breaks so many rules and makes so many enemies that in order to avoid retribution, he has to stay in power. That is the nature of the game that is being played.”
Trump’s latest posts appear to embrace that logic.
“Everybody needs to wake the fuck up. He is not planning on leaving. This is not a joke,” one critic wrote on X. Another warned, “Congress could stop this shit. They are the reason Trump has not been impeached or the 25th has not been enacted. All of our checks and balances have failed because Congress is so weak and corrupt.”
Another voice on Don Lemon’s Threads page added: “He has no intention to give up the presidency. He has no intention whatsoever to honor the Constitution or a legitimate election outcome. He must be removed. Impeachment will not be enough. He has been impeached 2 times and he never went anywhere but right back in to office.”
One viral comment on a separate Threads post summarized the growing concern: “The Insurrection Act was never meant to be a wannabe monarch’s toy chest of ‘unquestioned power.’ It’s an emergency measure bound by law and precedent, intended to protect the Republic, not smother it. To invoke it as a personal flex is to announce a willingness to turn the military on the American people. Every word drips of authoritarianism: the thrill of unchecked force, the promise of silencing dissent. There is no such thing as ‘unquestioned power’; that is treason to the spirit of 1776.”
