The LA riots could destroy Donald Trump's presidency
We're only a few days into the anti-riot crackdowns in Los Angeles by various armed government enforcers and already there are lives at stake.
No, not the lives of the hundreds of protestors out on the streets across America's second-largest city, but the political lives – or at least longevity – of some of the highest-profile personalities to emerge during president Trump's second turn in the White House.
There's Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, already weakened by her disastrous performance during last year's wildfire chaos and now even more compromised by the optics of incompetence as her city erupts yet again. And, of course, California governor Gavin Newsom, whose unbridled presidential ambitions could take a fatal hit if his state does not return to law and order – and fast.
The riots are a test for Kristi Noem, the US secretary of Homeland Security, aka 'ICE Barbie' – who made waves when she toured a Salvadoran mega prison in March sporting a $50,000 Rolex. Her hardline anti-migrant stance has made her a close Trump confidant – but can it stand up to the ire of the masses she helped mobilise by her often cruel migrant deportation sprees?
But the most consequential political life at stake here is that of Donald Trump himself – whose ultra-adversarial, bully-like tactics have yet to be tested as they are right now in California.
There has never been anything quite like the anti-ICE protests during either of Trump's terms. The Women's Marches and BLM protests of his first administration may have, at times, turned rowdy and chaotic – but their violence was never directed at the White House like it is right now. This moment is different. Very different.
For one thing, the conflict in Los Angeles is a direct response to Trump's hardline policies – in this case the illegal migrant crackdown – and are being mounted by those personally impacted, rather than virtue-signalling college kids motivated by 'privilege guilt.'
The riots also come after 18 months of anti-Israel protests that have been some of the most violent protests in modern US history. America's radical Left has not only perfected aggressive adversarialism since Hamas' October 7 attacks – it's normalised it. And now it has even further weaponised this disregard for civility on what could be a far larger scale.
Back in 2020, the National Guard were deployed to merely help support local law enforcement efforts when the BLM riots turned critical, and the Left was practically apoplectic.
This time, the National Guard are Trump's main characters – and the Marines could be the White House's next course of action. This is a level of pushback practically without precedent – risky and uncertain amid an atmosphere of anti-Trumpism whose long-anticipated #resistance has finally materialised.
Now unleashed, the California protesters could prove the ultimate – and most unanticipated – foils to a Trump White House whose run of nearly unchallenged luck looks like it is coming to an end. For many illegal migrants facing deportation, the spectre of arrest or even death rivals the potential violence awaiting in their home nations.
These are people with literally nothing to lose – and thanks to Joe Biden there are millions of them existing along America's fringes. These are not the college-educated agitators who fuelled BLM in 2020 and 'Save Gaza' more recently – with middle class families and aspirational futures at stake.
Fuelled by governor Newsom's surprising anti-Trump resolve – on Sunday he dared Trump's henchmen to arrest him – the protests could very well continue deep into the week, or even weeks; arrests, injuries or even deaths be damned.
Trump has staked his legacy and the future of Maga on an uncompromising commitment to his ideals – and an end to illegal migration has been at the top since he branded Mexicans as 'rapists' on the very first day of his very first campaign a decade ago.
Now those Mexicans are brandishing their nation's flag as they finally seek retribution. The past weekend's violence was practically inevitable – even if no one clearly saw it coming. With America already up in flames over Gaza – and the left always salivating at the prospect of an even more spectacular intersectional cause célèbre – the mayhem could easily spread beyond California in the coming days.
The #resistance has finally arrived and it's far bloodier than anyone could have anticipated. It may still be early in Trump 2.0, but the Los Angeles riots could easily emerge as its most defining moment.
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