Donald Trump’s decision to send the National Guard into Los Angeles on questionable grounds over the objection of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was in some ways entirely predictable. Trump threatened to do so to multiple states in 2020 during the George Floyd protests. He only failed to do so because his defense secretary at the time, Mark Esper, refused Trump’s request to send tens of thousands of troops with ”rifles and bayonets” into the streets.
Now, Trump is surrounded by people as unencumbered by any sense of right and wrong as himself. And that makes what’s happened in Los Angeles a warning about what might be coming.
Related
Donald Trump’s attack on Harvard is a sign of what could be coming for LGBTQ+ organizations
The administration is using tactics against the university that could be used against other political opponents.
The protests in LA never warranted the massive response from Trump. Thousands of people turned out to protest when reports circulated about ICE launching raids. While there were reports of protesters throwing rocks at ICE agents and trying to block their vehicles, some vehicles were set on fire. The situation escalated as law enforcement used tear gas and stun grenades on the crowd.
Dive deeper every day
Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
Trump and his cronies quickly branded this as an attack on the government itself by every Democrat. “Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America’s political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X. Of course, anyone who lived through January 6 knows that insurrection is the Republicans’ brand.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went one better, threatening to send in Marines if the violence continues. The idea of using the U.S. military against American citizens is a line that no president since Lincoln would cross.
And that’s why Trump’s action is so alarming. He has no compunction about using the military to put down—violently—protests. He is testing the idea of yet another “national emergency” by stretching the possible meaning of the law that allows him to deploy the National Guard in this case. He has long mused about employing the 1807 Insurrection Act for law enforcement purposes. He sees that law as a way of making the military his personal police department.
Today, the issue is immigration roundups. But the list of possibilities is endless. Protests about anti-LGBTQ+ policies? About police overuse of lethal force? Anything is game, because Trump can declare it a national emergency, an attack on the government.
What if Republicans lose badly in the midterms next year? Trump could refuse to accept the results, and when protests inevitably break out, call out the military to suppress them. Trump’s followers wanted him to do that in 2020, but he chickened out. He won’t make that mistake twice.
That’s why The Atlantic called what we’re seeing in LA “a dress rehearsal.” Trump has no Esper to restrain him this time. He has so cowed Congressional Republicans that they will eagerly second whatever authoritarian move he makes. He is all about exercise power, without any check on it.
Just when you think things can’t get worse with Trump, they always do. But this is one of the most frightening moments to date. Perhaps it will all be resolved without further escalation, but even if it is, the precedent has been established. There will be a next time, and the next time, things could get even worse.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.