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Hayden appeared on the Bill Maher's "Real Time" and was asked by Maher about Donald Trump's approach to terrorist interrogation. Hayden said, "I would be incredibly concerned if a President Trump governed in a way that was consistent with the way that candidate Trump expressed during the campaign."
Maher mentioned Trump's pledge to kill family members of ISIS terrorists saying to Hayden, "That never even occurred to you, right?"
"God, no," Hayden said to Maher, who believed the mention of God was in reference to him and was about to correct Hayden by explaining that he is an atheist.
But Hayden went on. "Let me give you a punchline. If he were to order that once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act."
Maher went on to show how this would give "a good reason not to support Trump," as Hayden explained the duty of the armed forces not to obey an unlawful order as Maher added, "There would be a coup in this country."
Hayden said that he wasn't certain about their being a "coup," but that he hoped his book would sell well and that Maher's nose looks bigger in person.
In real life, which liberals are not in touch with, a coup would not likely result from a Trumpian order to kill ISIS family members. A coup would require the military to remove a president by force and that isn't going to happen here.
But refusal to obey an unlawful order would be dealt with in a court martial and the results may or may not be what we expect. The idea of "unlawful" can be like a Clintonian copout like saying "it depends upon what 'is' is."
There is no question that Trump's order of killing a terrorist's family would go against the Geneva Convention and be considered a war crime. Will Trump really go that far?
I think it's just his way of getting votes and free press coverage.
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