As Democrats continue to stand on the sidelines while one of their most beloved cities burns at the hands of anti-ICE activists, President Trump has been taking action. Instead of supporting the president’s decisive actions, those same Democrats questioned his motives and even blamed him for the situation.
Video evidence began to emerge showing just how violent the “protests” were becoming, but the president’s critics would not budge. Their rhetoric continues to rise as fast as the on-the-ground tensions.
The war of words began on Saturday as President Trump issued a memorandum permitting 2,000 National Guard troops to reinforce the ICE operations for up to 60 days. The memorandum invoked the presidential powers of 10 U.S.C. 12406 “to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.”
Trump repeatedly criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, on his Truth Social account over the weekend.
“If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” he wrote.
‘Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in. That’s real leadership, and he has the authority and the responsibility to do it.’
On Sunday night, Trump issued more directives from his Truth Social account, specifically calling for the arrest of those protesters wearing face masks.
“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” the president posted Sunday night.
“ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!” he said in another.
Bass has repeatedly insisted on the right to protest as long as it is peaceful. She wrote in a statement: “But the most important thing right now is that our city be peaceful, and so protests and expressing your … fears, your beliefs, is appropriate to do, but it is just not appropriate for there to be violence. And I don’t want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration, completely unnecessarily.”
Bass finished her written statement with a focus on the “chaos” that the administration was allegedly fomenting: “It is clear that the Administration is pushing an agenda — there is clearly no plan other than chaos.”
Bass issued another statement on Sunday calling the deployment of “federalized troops … a chaotic escalation.”
Governor Newsom announced that he would be suing the Trump administration over the deployment of the National Guard. In his formal statement, he called Trump’s orders “a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation.”
Newsom likewise called out Trump on Sunday night with a post on X. He said that Trump was “inciting and provoking violence,” “creating mass chaos,” “militarizing cities,” and “arresting opponents.” His post included a clip of Trump saying, “If officials stand in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges.”
“These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,” Newsom added.
Investigative journalist and Blaze News opinion contributor Steve Baker replied to Newsom’s post, saying, “Oh, Gav, Gav, Gav. Shutting down entire cities and states because of a virus with a 99.75% survival rate was the act of dictators. (No, we will not forget.) Defending property from looters and vandals, keeping highways open, and protecting CITIZENS from foreign invaders is not.”
In another post Sunday night, Newsom cautioned against a “trap,” presumably one set by law enforcement in the engagement with the protesters: “Los Angeles: Remain peaceful. Don’t fall into the trap that extremists are hoping for.”
At 7:31 p.m. Eastern time Sunday night, former Vice President Kamala Harris posted her statement on X in support of the protests and the Democrat response. She criticized the Trump administration for “stoking fear.”
“And like so many Americans, I am appalled at what we are witnessing on the streets of our city. Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos. … It is part of the Trump administration’s cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division,” Harris wrote.
Harris’ statement then reiterated the “peaceful” nature of these protests: “And as the LAPD, Mayor, and Governor have noted, demonstrations in defense of our immigrant neighbors have been overwhelmingly peaceful.”
At roughly the same time as these statements were being made Sunday evening, a crowd reportedly gathered around an American flag, lit it on fire, and spit on it.
“This is not just a gesture, this is something we need to make real. We need to take down this empire once and for all,” one protester reportedly yelled into a bullhorn at the crowd.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), on the other hand, defended the president’s decision to send in federal troops, citing the governor’s “inability or unwillingness” to properly deal with the violence on the streets of Los Angeles.
“I think the president did exactly what he needed to do. These are federal laws and we have to maintain the rule of law, and that is not what is happening. Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in. That’s real leadership, and he has the authority and the responsibility to do it,” Johnson told ABC host Jonathan Karl.
According to a press release on Sunday, U.S. Northern Command announced that close to 2,000 California Army National Guard soldiers had been placed under federal command. Close to 300 members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were deployed in Los Angeles, Paramount, and Compton, California. About 500 Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, are “in a prepared to deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support the DOD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts.”
On Monday morning, Trump defended his decision to send the National Guard to California and seemingly gave a suggested script for Newsom and Bass to read:
We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated. The very incompetent “Governor,” Gavin Newscum, and “Mayor,” Karen Bass, should be saying, “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.” Instead, they choose to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are “peaceful protests.” Just one look at the pictures and videos of the Violence and Destruction tells you all you have to know. We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
The riots reached their peak on Sunday when the reinforcements clashed with protesters. The standoff between Trump and the California leadership continues as threats of lawfare run rampant.
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