Trump Says He‘d Deploy Marines to Cities ’in a Heartbeat' If Needed

The president cited sweeping powers under the Insurrection Act, saying he could deploy troops without judicial review.

President Donald Trump waves as he prepares to board Air Force One to depart for South Korea at Haneda Airport, in Tokyo, on Oct. 29, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

President Donald Trump said he would send U.S. Marines and members of other branches of the military into U.S. cities “in a heartbeat” if he were to think it necessary, asserting that he has the full legal authority to do so under the Insurrection Act but has so far chosen restraint.

“If you had to send in the Army or if you had to send in the Marines, I'd do that in a heartbeat,” Trump said in a Nov. 2 appearance on CBS News’s “60 Minutes.”