WorldPride rally in Washington, DC takes aim at Donald Trump's ‘deeply personal attacks' on LGBTQ+ community
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LGBTQ+ people and their allies gathered yesterday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – the site of Martin Luther King's 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech – to rally for preserving decades of progress while protesting setbacks under US president Donald Trump.
After the festive nature of a parade on Saturday through the streets of the capital, the rally, one of the main events of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration, turned more overtly political.
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RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Trump flexes strongman instincts over LA protests
Donald Trump likes to show off his strongman credentials at cage fights and military parades - and over the weekend, the US President did it by sending troops into Los Angeles. The move once again showed Mr Trump pushing presidential power to its limits, at the start of a second term that has begun with what critics say is a distinctly authoritarian edge. Mr Trump deployed the National Guard after clashes sparked by immigration raids, marking the first time since 1965 that a president has done so without a request by a state governor. His administration has also ordered 700 active-duty Marines into the second largest city in the US. The Republican has warned that troops could be sent "everywhere" - sparking fears that he will send the military out into the streets across the US to crack down on protests and dissent. "It's a slippery slope," William Banks, a law professor at Syracuse University said. "If the president tries to do more, he's cutting against the grain in the United States of a long history of leaving law enforcement to civilians." The protests in Los Angeles are in many ways the showdown that Mr Trump has been waiting for. Mr Trump has been spoiling for a fight against California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, and he is now doing so on his signature issue of immigration. Newsom has bitterly accused the "dictatorial" president of manufacturing the crisis for political gain - while Mr Trump suggested the governor, a potential 2028 presidential contender, could be arrested. Democratic California senator Alex Padilla slammed what he called "the behavior of an authoritarian government." Rights groups have also opposed it. Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a statement that Mr Trump's response was "unnecessary, inflammatory, and an abuse of power." 'Civil war' Mr Trump said that he does not "want a civil war" - but the situation is a golden opportunity to appear tough to his base. Indeed, Mr Trump has long cultivated a strongman image and has previously expressed admiration for authoritarian leaders like Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping. This weekend, Mr Trump will spend his 79th birthday watching tanks rumble through Washington at a parade to mark the 250th anniversary of the US army. And the order to send the National Guard into Los Angeles came shortly before Mr Trump attended a UFC fight in New Jersey - a sport he has used frequently to appeal to macho voters. Critics however fear that Mr Trump's actions in Los Angeles are not just for show. Since returning to office, Mr Trump has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of presidential power to target the US bureaucracy, universities, law firms, cultural institutions and anywhere else he believes liberal ideologies linger. Mr Trump seemed to hint at what could come next when he pinned the blame for the Los Angeles unrest - without evidence - on "insurrectionists." It appeared to be a clear reference to the Insurrection Act, which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force. 'Look strong' "Trump is pretty free and loose when it comes to the use of force," Todd Belt, a political science professor at George Washington University said. "He knows it is popular with his base, and he always likes to look strong in their eyes." Mr Trump has talked for years about using the military against protests. Although he did not do so during his first term, his former defense secretary Mark Esper said Mr Trump asked why Black Lives Matter protesters could not be shot in the legs. Conversely, Mr Trump made no move to bring in the military when his own supporters attacked the US Capitol in a bid to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. Mr Trump would not say if he would invoke the Insurrection Act when asked by reporters, but he and his advisors have been framing the issue in increasingly apocalyptic terms. His top migration advisor Stephen Miller has explicitly framed the Los Angeles protests as a battle for the future of Western civilization against an "invasion" of migrants. "The 'war' and 'invasion' framing have helped the administration make the case for the domestic use of these laws that are normally used to put down rebellions or invasions," said Mr Belt.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Pentagon deploys 700 US marines to Los Angeles amid immigration protests
Hundreds of active-duty US marines are to be deployed in Los Angeles, the US military confirmed on Monday, making good on Donald Trump's threat to send more troops to the city to quash protests against government immigration raids and deportations. In a statement, the US Northern Command announced that a battalion of 700 marines had been activated to work with the roughly 2,100 national guard troops mobilized by the Trump administration to Los Angeles, to help protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents. The marines are moving from their base at Twentynine Palms in southern California to the Los Angeles area. The move risked dramatically escalating tensions in a city on edge after four days of protests against the administration's immigration crackdown. As of Monday afternoon, the day's demonstrations had remained largely peaceful. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told news agency Reuters, said there was no expectation that Trump was, for now at least, about to invoke the Insurrection Act, as some critics had suggested. But the person added that the situation was 'fluid' and might change. Supporters gather as Civil rights legend Dolores Huerta, 95, speaks in Los Angeles, Monday, June 9, 2025, calling for the release of labor union leader David Huerta, who was arrested during a protest on June 6. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Governor Gavin Newsom's press office called the mobilization of marines 'completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented'. 'Trump is escalating this situation even further – deploying active duty Marines, the 'best of the best,' against their own countrymen in an American city,' the office wrote in a follow-up post. 'Completely unnecessary and only inflames the situation more.' In a statement, LAPD chief Jim McDonnell said the department had not received 'any formal notification' of the marines' activation and said the 'arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles – absent clear coordination – presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city'. Senior ABC News senior national policy reporter Anne Flaherty wrote on X that the troops would be 'tasked with a support role, helping law enforcement only', while Reuters quoted the official as saying they would be 'protecting federal property and facilities'. Police stand guard near the metropolitan detention center Monday, June 9, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Twentynine Palms is home to US Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. Two defense department officials confirmed the number of 700 to NBC News. On Saturday, Trump ordered 2,000 national guard troops to Los Angeles, which has seen three days of protests over raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, stated later the same day in a social media post that marines from Camp Pendleton, about 100 miles south of Los Angeles, were on 'high alert' and were ready to be mobilized. On Monday, amid a feud with Newsom over the legality of such a move, Trump said he would not hesitate to send more troops. 'If I didn't get involved, if we didn't bring the guard in – and we would bring more in if we needed it, because we have to make sure there's going to be law and order – you had a disaster happening … they were overwhelmed, you saw what was happening,' the president said at a White House roundtable focused on business investment. 'It's lucky for the people in Los Angeles and in California that we did what we did. We got in just in time. It's still simmering a little bit, but not very much.' Newsom, meanwhile, called Trump's deployment of national guard troops in response to the largely peaceful protests an 'unmistakable step toward authoritarianism', as well as being 'illegal and immoral'. A burned out car sits destroyed after a night of protests in downtown Los Angeles, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) 'Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach,' he said in a statement. 'This is beyond incompetence. This is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy.' Rob Bonta, the California attorney general, announced on Monday the state would file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for 'unlawfully' federalizing the state's national guard and deploying its troops to quell the protests. Later in Monday's White House meeting, Trump insisted he had not yet made up his mind about sending marines. 'We'll see what happens,' he said when asked directly if he would do so. Supporters gather as Civil Rights legend Dolores Huerta, 95, speaks in favor of labor union David Huerta speaks at a protest, Monday, June 9, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo Damian Dovarganes) 'I think we have it very well under control. I think it would've been a very bad situation, it was heading in the wrong direction – it's now heading in the right direction.' Some veterans have criticized Trump's decision to deploy national guard troops, warning he risked turning the traditionally neutral US military into a partisan political force. 'This is the politicization of the armed forces,' Maj Gen Paul Eaton told the Guardian. 'It casts the military in a terrible light – it's that man on horseback, who really doesn't want to be there, out in front of American citizens.' NBC News said Monday that about 300 national guard troops were already in Los Angeles, with the remainder set to arrive by Wednesday. US military personnel are prohibited from performing law-enforcement activities inside the country unless the president has invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 act of Congress that permits the federalization of national guard troops and deployment of standing units of the armed forces. Former US president George HW Bush most recently invoked it in May 1992 to suppress riots following the acquittal of Los Angeles police officers for beating the Black motorist Rodney King. - The Guardian Read More Los Angeles police order immigration protesters downtown to go home
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on Ireland's budget policy: betting on a tax boom
The latest report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory council (Ifac) neatly sums up the difficulty of forecasting what happens next in the Irish economy. Facing significant uncertainties, most notably from the policies of US president Donald Trump, the economy could take a hit, or could hold on to most of the gains of recent years. One thing is for sure, however. Ireland is relying ever more heavily on corporation tax. And the report from the budget watchdog suggests how the Government should respond. These recommendations are, by now, familiar, but that does not mean they should be dismissed. The Government has, wisely, started to put cash aside in case of a downturn. And this should certainly help if any reversal was temporary. However, Ifac points to structural issues too – longer-term trends which need to be addressed. One, a common theme of these reports, is Ireland's reliance on just a few major US companies for a significant amount of corporate tax revenue. When the part of corporate tax revenues relating to tax planning is factored out, Ifac estimates that the underlying budget position is in deficit. There are also problems on the spending side of the budget, which have received little attention to date. Ifac criticises the Government for its budgeting for this year, saying that it failed to take into account overruns for 2024 which had increased the spending base. As a result, spending for this year could be €3 billion above budget, it estimates. READ MORE Significant overruns have become common, but have been offset by tax also coming in ahead of target. Relying on this continuing is unwise. To combat this, Ifac calls for better spending control and a clear target – or anchor – for the level of spending increases which is then adhered to. As the report points out, corporation tax could grow further, helping to underpin the public finances. But the risks, too, are obvious. Either way, the lack of control on day-to-day public spending is notable and does not suggest proper management, or a focus on value for money.
