Tom Cotton pressed on 'language' used in 'send in the troops' op-ed, National Guard presence
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., doubled down on Sunday when pressed by CBS host Margaret Brennan on whether he wanted to use the language he did in his call for President Donald Trump to send in troops to help quell the rioting in Los Angeles.
"You wrote an op-ed supporting President Trump's decision to send in federalized national guard troops and active-duty marines to California. You referred to it as the threat from the radical left, a show of force to end the right and talked about communities being terrorized. Given the amount of tension in the country right now, is that really the language to use?"
Cotton wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, a parallel to his infamous 2020 guest essay in the New York Times, saying, "At the risk of again sending liberals to their fainting couches, it may indeed be time to send in the troops."
"Yes. When you see left-wing militias throwing bricks and frozen water bottles at police officers and shooting them with fireworks. And unfortunately, you have mayors and governors in some places that won't allow police to maintain order," Cotton responded to the CBS host.
"If the governor won't call in the national guard, then the president has to federalize them. We always hope the local police are allowed to do their job and have sufficient numbers to do their job to maintain order and protect innocent life and property. If they can't, or they are not allowed to, the National Guard has to be on scene to restore civil order," Cotton added.
Cotton's op-ed came as Trump's decision to send in the National Guard and eventually a group of U.S. Marines was met with pushback from Democrats.
The Arkansas Republican wrote in support of Trump's deployment of National Guard and Marine soldiers to Los Angeles over the weekend after anti-ICE riots escalated beyond local police control. His comments echoed similar arguments he made in the wake of the Black Lives Matter riots plaguing major cities in the summer of 2020.
Brennan pushed back and said the Los Angeles Police chief insisted they had the rioting under control, as Cotton argued that the chief said last weekend they were stretched thin.
Cotton wrote that he was also planning on introducing new legislation that would "stiffen penalties for rioters who attack law enforcement" and "make riot-related crimes a deportable offense."
He added the current Republican budget bill provides additional funding for immigration authorities to deport criminal illegal immigrants.
"These ideas are basic common sense, but as was the case five years ago, the Democrats haven't learned. It isn't 'inflammatory,' as [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom claimed, to enforce federal law, stand with law enforcement and protect civilians. It's necessary to keep the peace." Cotton wrote.
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