There is reality and there is reality TV. And friends, we have just now crossed the Rubicon from one realm into another. Donald Trump does not care about the reality of the situation in Los Angeles. He only cares about his theatrical version of it, which he insists on pushing onto the world stage, justified or not. He has demonized the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, and he has lied to (and demonized) the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. (And of course Trump calls him “Newscum” because his 10-year-old emotional makeup compels him to do so.) But what Trump has done in the last hour is alarming. It’s costly and it’s unnecssary from a realistic standpoint. So what is its purpose? To stage a race war on right-wing media and make Trump the hero. That’s what. CNN:
More than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, according to three people familiar with the matter, and will join the thousands of National Guard troops who were activated by President Donald Trump over the weekend without the consent of California’s governor or LA’s mayor.
The deployment of the full Marine battalion marks a significant escalation in Trump’s use of the military as a show of force against protesters, but it is still unclear what their task will be once in LA, the sources said. Like the National Guard troops, they are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activity such as making arrests unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, which permits the president to use the military to end an insurrection or rebellion of federal power.
The Marines are not needed. Nothing is happening which warranted the deployment of the National Guard (which Trump did illegally, without consulting with Governor Newsom first) and the escalation to calling out the Marines is completely unnecessary.
Nothing is needed in Los Angeles. Local and state authorities have verything under control. But Trump wants to play reality TV and channel his inner D.W. Griffith, so he’s improvising a war scenario and he’s mobilizing troops, for no other reason than because he can. He’s completely operating fom a child’s motivation, because he is a child.
But a child with a flamethrower still has a flamethrower. Mark these events carefully. I concur with Lev Parnas, the people at the Bulwark and every pundit and commentator who is sounding the alarm that Trump is looking for an excuse to invoke martial law. What other possible explanation is there for these actions? Dan Rather also agrees that Trump is producing and directing a reality TV opus.
To distract from his stalled legislation, the fight with Musk, and the ongoing issues with his tariffs, Trump went to the authoritarian playbook. He needed to do something to remind his base that he is a powerful guy who does powerful things.
So Trump ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the FBI to execute raids across Los Angeles in search of “suspected” undocumented workers.
The probability that the raids would spur protests was high. That’s exactly what Trump wanted and expected. Smaller raids in Massachusetts and San Diego last week led to angry confrontations with law enforcement. Los Angeles is an even bigger stage, and it delivered.
Trump got his made-for-television crackdown. To add to the theater of the absurd, conservative television personality Dr. Phil McGraw and his camera crew were embedded with ICE agents as raids took place.
Three days of protests across the city gave Trump an opportunity to federalize the National Guard, a legally dubious move. Now 700 Marines — Marines! — are heading to Los Angeles to assist the National Guard, even though the protests had quieted as of Monday. For Trump, the show must go on.
Stephen Miller called the violent protests “an insurrection.” Politico dubbed it a “major political event.” Let’s add that it was choreographed, with Trump exploiting 2000 members of the United States military as props.
So Trump got his distraction, and as a bonus he got a public showdown with a political rival (Governor Gavin Newsom) over his core issue (immigration) in the bluest of blue states (California). It is a fight Trump has been girding for since he took office.
Televised riots are the perfect backdrop to highlight the White House’s messaging on immigration. It is a manufactured show of force that Trump’s base will applaud.
Not to be out PR-ed, Newsom invited MSNBC cameras into the command center to capture his own show of strength. He called Trump’s actions “manufactured chaos and violence.” In an interview with MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff, Newsom said, “This is about authoritarian tendencies. This is about command and control. This is about power. This is about ego. ‘My way or the highway.’ This is a consistent pattern of practice of recklessness.”
Border czar Tom Homan has threatened to arrest California political leaders. “He knows where to find me,” Newsom responded. Today, Trump told reporters, “I would do it if I were Tom.”
Trump lit the fuse. He did it out of frustration and to show everybody who the big boss is. How crazy this is going to get is something we’re all going to find out shortly.
“tin soliders and Nixon coming…we’re finally on our own. This summer I hear them calling…four dead in Ohio.” Crosby Stills Nash and Young from their song Ohio. Four unarmed Kent State students were murdered by the National Guard in 1970 for protesting the Vietnam War.