A Saturday op-ed in the Daily Beast asked, “If Trump’s Rage Brings ‘Civil War,’ Where Will the Military Stand?”

The question is a serious one as the president enjoys a strong standing among those who have served in the armed forces.

Writer Patricia Ravalgi used a series of tweets President Trump sent out a week ago in which he quoted Pastor Robert Jeffress’ warning during his appearance on Fox New of a “civil war-like fracture in this nation from which this country will never heal.”

Ravalgi posited that “real civil wars” are “very often accompanied by martial law and resolved by military intervention.” She went on to explore how the U.S. military would react in such a situation.

“A view from the inside indicates the armed forces are as divided as the rest of the country — and divided is a dangerous place for the U.S. military to find itself,” she wrote.

“Our republic rests on the important constitutional principle of civilian control of a non-politicized military. But the constant drumbeat of right-wing conspiracy theories and hateful political rhetoric has found its way into a sizable portion of the U.S. military’s rank and file,” the author claimed.

Ravalgi declared that even the recently prevalent Reagan Republicans have been vilified.

“But just as that brand of Republicanism has been replaced by Trumpism among civilian Republicans, so too has it seeped into the armed forces, and by these standards, even Ronald Reagan would be viewed as a socialist,” she wrote.

Ever since Donald Trump appeared on the political scene and was elected president thanks to his conservative populist positions, he has stood on a strong foundation of unwavering support from law enforcement and military service members.

That bothers leftists and obviously worries them a great deal as more and more talk of “civil war” circulates. Ravalgi pointed out that among military vets, approval numbers for Trump are even higher than among civilians.

“In my experience, the support for Donald Trump among a large segment of the U.S. military is downright cult-like,” she wrote. “None of this makes sense. Trump is everything the U.S. military should despise: a draft dodger, adulterer, flabby, lazy, unread, a tabloid joke for decades, and TV reality show star.”

The Daily Beast writer at some length lamented the disrespect Trump demonstrated for Obama-era military leaders who supported Hillary Clinton, as well as his disparagement of John McCain. And by doing so he only increased his support among lower-level military personnel.

But she soon settled on that “much of the military” has a “visceral hatred” for Democrats, the Deep State and the fake news media.

Given the fact that there are liberals in the military, the writer hinted that her imagined civil war scenario would ravage the military structurally and then would pose a major threat to the rest of the country.

“The belief that there is indeed a coup being orchestrated against President Trump is a weapon Trump has in his arsenal, depending how far down the road to authoritarianism he decides to go,” Ravalgi concluded.

“But Trump would need to deeply fracture the military first, and that is something to watch for,” she added. “Most members of the armed forces are honorable, patriotic Americans who would never take part in such a scheme, despite their support for Trump. But a significant portion just might.”