Caro in Master of the Senate describes it almost as if the country came dangerously close to a coups. In Truman by McCullough the author doesn't go quite so far. I'm wondering what you all think about the moment in history?
MacArthur returned to the U.S. with significant support, and was seen as a viable contender for the presidency in 1952. He had even intimated such intentions to Eisenhower at a meeting before the RNC. Given MacArthur's confidence, ego, and political standing at the time of his speech there is almost no chance a coup would have occurred. What ultimately destroyed MacArthur politically was his testimony before the Senate Armed Forces and Foreign Relations subcommittee. He came across as a dangerous extremist, likely to provoke widespread war with China and the Soviet Union, ending his presidential aspirations.
Following the disastrous testimony Sen. Robert Taft, an isolationist, became the front runner for the 1952 Republican nomination. Hawks within the part, scared of Taft's leanings, then led a movement to draft Eisenhower, then president of Columbia, instead, in the correct belief that he would be more aggressive in attacking communist threats.