California Unrest Is Trump’s Doing
We need to treat all equally
Trump decided to deploy 2000 California National Guard to supposedly quell protestors. The last president to do so was Lyndon Johnson in 1965 to protect civil rights protestors. From what I have read, this whole situation was started as a deliberate attempt by the Trump administration to incite violence.
Deputy Chief of Staff, and all around frightening man Steven Miller, posted on social that this is “a fight to save civilization.” Is he self aggrandizing a little, maybe?
“It could not be clearer,” said Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and ally of the president who noted that Mr. Trump had been focused on immigration enforcement since 2015. “One side is for enforcing the law and protecting Americans, and the other side is for defending illegals and being on the side of the people who break the law.”
What protestors are doing in LA, as I understand it, is protecting people in the United States who by law should be given due process, and not forced off the streets, or out of their homes and into jails just because they might be undocumented. We do have an immigration problem, but violence is absolutely not the answer.
Governor Gavin Newsom is furious. Trump is deliberately targeting the blue state, and specifically Newsom as a leader in the Democratic Party. Leaders in the party are supporting Newsom, who wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth formally requesting Mr. Trump rescind the call-up of the National Guard, saying “federal actions were inflaming the situation.” And on Monday, Mr. Newsom said California would file a lawsuit challenging the president’s order to federalize the state’s National Guard.
“We expected this, we prepared for this,” Mr. Newsom said in a statement to The New York Times. “This is not surprising — for them to succeed, California must fail, and so they’re going to try everything in their tired playbook despite the evidence against them.”
As more demonstrators took to the streets, the president wrote on social media that Los Angeles was being “invaded and occupied” by “violent, insurrectionist mobs,” and directed three of his top cabinet officials to take any actions necessary to “liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion.” The president declined to say whether he planned to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which allows for the use of federal troops on domestic soil to quell a rebellion. But either way, he added, “we’re going to have troops everywhere.”
This brings back memories of the late 1960’s when, as a young girl I saw the abuse of power from our government to stop protestors at Kent State. Jamelle Bouie, whom I recommend you follow on social and read his columns in the NY TImes, speaks on this situation, and its somewhat reassuring. But it also makes me feel we are headed towards a crisis, particularly with the June 14th protests around the country coming up.
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As things develop, I may post again today. Thanks for being here. I am outraged.
As a friend asked: “Do you remember that time Trump called up the National Guard to quell an insurrection at the Capitol?” 🙄
Liza, great comments. Unfortunately during peaceful protests, a few people take advantage of the situation and commit crimes which makes the protest seem like an invasion of criminals. What troubles me are the responses of the entire administration which is actually being run by Fox News. Let's not have a police state.