When violent protests originate from the right — such as those in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, or at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — President Trump has chosen to downplay the violence or suggest the protesters have a noble cause and have been treated unfairly.
But when protests originate from what he views as the political left, Mr. Trump often expresses an open desire for law enforcement and the military to harshly crack down on them.
The latest instance of his endorsing severe tactics against protesters occurred over the weekend, when Mr. Trump deployed National Guard troops on the streets of downtown Los Angeles to quell protests against his administration’s immigration policies.
Even though the demonstrations have been largely contained to specific areas and mostly peaceful, Mr. Trump claimed on social media that the protesters were “insurrectionist mobs” and that Los Angeles had been “invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals.”
In endorsing harsh law enforcement tactics against immigration protests, Mr. Trump is picking a political fight on ground that Republicans believe is advantageous terrain. Stephen K. Bannon, a former adviser to Mr. Trump, said on his podcast on Monday that the president’s response was “quite smart.”
“He just won a massive national election on this very topic,” Mr. Bannon said, magnifying Mr. Trump’s showing in a race he won by less than 2.3 million popular votes. Mr. Bannon accused Democratic-led jurisdictions of inviting in undocumented immigrants and refusing to arrest violent protesters. “This is why President Trump has to bring in the National Guard and federalize them,” he said.
Mr. Trump has recommended severe measures against protesters at least since his 2016 presidential campaign, when he openly mused about assaulting a protester at one of his rallies in Las Vegas. Later, as president, when demonstrations against police brutality erupted in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, Mr. Trump suggested that the military could shoot the protesters in the legs.
More than 150 police officers were injured during the assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob four years ago. Some were hit in the head with baseball bats, flagpoles and pipes. Mr. Trump has described the Capitol riot as a “day of love,” and immediately on his return to office pardoned those convicted of crimes.
Democratic lawmakers say they oppose Mr. Trump’s harsh immigration crackdown and support the demonstrators protesting it, while also warning of the political leverage he might gain if protests turn violent.
“Donald Trump’s response to the California protests is an attempt to create, not quell, violence,” Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, wrote on X. “His entire movement is centered around encouraging violence on his behalf, but crushing protest that opposes him.”
Waymo, the robot taxi company, cut off service to the downtown Los Angeles area after protesters set multiple self-driving vehicles on fire on Sunday, sending smoke and what the police warned could be toxic gas into the air.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, has argued the president is attempting to create a crisis to allow himself to gain more executive power.
“Trump is sending 2,000 National Guard troops into LA County — not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis,” Mr. Newsom wrote on X on Sunday. “He’s hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful.”
Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.
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