This Time magazine cover was meant to be a joke.  Donald Trump is serious about retaining power forever.

All 10 living former US defense secretaries — both Republicans and Democrats — wrote a Washington Post op-ed article urging President Donald Trump to refrain from using the military to interfere in the 2020 election.

The signatories stressed that involving the military in election disputes could result in criminal charges.

Trump has repeatedly suggested there may not be a peaceful transfer of power and is said to have entertained suggestions that the military step in to help him dispute the election.

The article, titled “Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory,” was signed by all 10 living former US defense secretaries, including two — Mark Esper and James Mattis — who served under President Donald Trump.

The other signees were Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, and Ashton Carter, who served under Barack Obama; Robert Gates, who served under Obama and George W. Bush; William Cohen and William Perry, who served under Bill Clinton; Dick Cheney, who served under George H.W. Bush; and Donald Rumsfeld, who served first under Gerald Ford in 1975 and was later tapped for the role under George W. Bush.

“American elections and the peaceful transfers of power that result are hallmarks of our democracy,” they wrote in The Post, adding that the administration should “refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team.”

“The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived,” the letter continued.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by Congress what, if any, role the military should have in the election. “I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical US military,” Milley said. “In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections, by law, US courts and the US Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the US military. I foresee no role for the US armed forces in this process.”

It appears Donald Trump will not accept that advice. He is more likely to refuse to physically resist leaving the White House. Who will escort him out?