How Donald Trump is exploiting tensions in Los Angeles to toughen his immigration policy
Donald Trump decided, on the evening of June 7, to deploy the National Guard in response to highly localized scenes of urban violence in two cities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, in a calculated and premeditated overreaction, a legally questionable one with unpredictable consequences. The controversial move allowed the president to bypass the Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, leading to the deployment of the first 300 soldiers on Sunday, June 8, to proactively protect federal buildings.
On Sunday, several gatherings – initially peaceful, later marred by a few clashes – took place in the city and on Highway 101 amid heightened tensions. The narrative sought by the White House was clear: federal order versus chaos, with the pursuit of undocumented migrants hampered by what it called lax Democratic officials and extremist rioters. "They spit, we hit," Trump summed up on Sunday. The blunt phrase was intended to convey toughness, but it also underscored how the real threat was being exaggerated in the social media echo chamber, despite dramatic footage of driverless Waymo taxis set on fire and covered in graffiti.
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