Donald Trump sends more troops to LA — including active duty Marines to be used against civilians — even as he suggests that the governor be arrested; and DC braces for Trump’s Big Beautiful military parade.
Happy Tuesday.
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Klaas unpacks the structural rot that fuels a rise in psychopathy, narcissism, and performative extremism among elected officials, and we discuss the accelerating shift from public service to influencer-style spectacle. From Trump’s latest authoritarian overtures to the international view of America’s democratic backsliding, we talk about how the real danger isn’t the chaos itself—but how numb we’ve become to it.
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Don’t forget January 6
As Donald Trump sends troops into LA, this is a good moment to remind ourselves of how he handled the J6 riots.
This, my friends, is the way: As Trump strutted and preened his support for the thin blue line, the NYT’s Peter Baker posted:
"Nobody’s going to spit on our police officers," says Trump, who four months ago pardoned people who beat police officers with pipes, flagpoles, baseball bats and 2-by-4s at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Aaron Blake also took a dive into the way-back-machine:
Others reminded us what a real “insurrection” looks like:
And here’s Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who was actually one of the blue line that tried to defend the Capitol, whileTrump sat in the White House, watching it on television. And did nothing.
The Brutality is the Point
“ICE Barbie Kristi Noem Issues Chilling Warning to L.A. Protesters”
“We’re coming in and doing what the president has said that he’s going to do,” she told Fox News’ Hannity. “The more that people conduct violence against law enforcement officers, boy, we’re going to hit ‘em back, and we’re going to hit ‘em back harder than we ever have before.”
Flashback to January 2023, when I wrote about Trump’s fetish:
As he seeks a return to power in 2024, Trump has already pivoted to brutality, and there is nothing subtle about it.
For Trump, this is hardly a new theme. His enthusiasm for violence — including torture, extra-judicial murder and shooting both migrants and protesters — has been a consistent feature of his politics for years….
Speaking to supporters at Mar-a-Lago in November, Trump threatened that, as president, he would send the military into American cities, even if local officials objected, and repeatedly stressed his eagerness for executing drug dealers and human traffickers after quick, summary trials….
As president, Trump not only wanted a border wall but frequently talked about having it electrified, with sharpened spikes on top, and had aides draw up cost estimates for moats filled with alligators and snakes. He publicly suggested that soldiers shoot immigrants who threw rocks, and, when told that would be illegal, “suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down.” During his first campaign, he urged supporters to beat up hecklers and boasted that he could order the military to commit war crimes, including killing the families of suspected terrorists. “If you were president of United States, and the military declined to carry out an illegal order, what would you do?,” Fox News host Bret Baier asked him. “They won’t refuse,” he replied.
Relevant to the police brutality protests rippling out in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death, Trump has encouraged police to stop worrying about physically injuring suspects during arrests. As unrest spiked after the police murder of George Floyd, Trump tweeted that he had told Minnesota’s governor that “the Military is with him all the way.”
“Any difficulty and we will assume control,” Trump wrote, “but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
You can read the whole thing here.
Nota bene
Wall Street Journal: “The White House Marching Orders That Sparked the L.A. Migrant Crackdown”
Agents didn’t need to develop target lists of immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, a longstanding practice, Miller said. Instead, he directed them to target Home Depot, where day laborers typically gather for hire, or 7-Eleven convenience stores. Miller bet that he and a handful of agents could go out on the streets of Washington, D.C., and arrest 30 people right away.
“Who here thinks they can do it?” Miller said, asking for a show of hands.
ICE agents appeared to follow Miller’s tip and conducted an immigration sweep Friday at the Home Depot in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Westlake in Los Angeles, helping set off a weekend of protests around Los Angeles County, including at the federal detention center in the city’s downtown. On Saturday, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to Southern California, despite objections by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
**
Paul Rieckhoff on the deployment of 700 active duty Marines:
He’s breaking the glass now.
This is a major, unprecedented and predictable escalation of military force by Trump.
These are federal troops now being deployed against Americans on US soil.
The deep waters are getting deeper fast. The last time troops were sent domestically into a situation this political, complicated and divisive was probably Kent State. And this is far beyond that.
This is what it looks like to thrust our troops into politics on a level we’ve never seen before.
This should be an absolute last resort for a president. For Trump, it’s just another phase of the plan. And he hopes our new normal.
**
700 Marines are being sent to Los Angeles, deployed on U.S. soil, against American civilians. This isn’t border security. It’s martial optics.
A show of force meant to intimidate, not protect. Now Trump says he supports Tom Homan arresting Gov. Gavin Newsom—for what? For not going along with Trump’s manufactured crisis?
The danger isn’t just on the streets of L.A., it’s in the precedent: weaponizing the military, criminalizing dissent, and targeting elected leaders.
This is un-American.
**
But, but, but — some warnings:
Garry Kasparov: “I Resisted Putin in Russia. Here’s the Right Way to Protest”:
There’s an old joke that—despite being a bit crude—offers some useful insight here:
A visitor at a pub finds the establishment’s owner frustrated about his reputation. “Do you see the fences around town? I built those fences. Do they call me John the fence-maker? No. Do you like this bar? I’ve served thousands of pints here. Do they call me John the barman? No…”He pauses and takes a deep breath.
“But you fuck one goat…”
When it comes to political protest, that same logic applies: You can have a thousand nonviolent protesters, but if one car is set on fire, it’s not a protest, it’s a riot. And, if we are being honest, the number of cars burned in California is a little more than one at this point. With each car that goes up in flames, MAGA gets another free midterm campaign ad.
Call it unfair. It’s the cold, hard political reality.
**
“Trump's War” - by Joe Klein - Sanity Clause
1. Violent protesters waving Mexican flags and setting Waymo taxis on fire are exactly—I mean, precisely—the people Trump wants to have rioting in the streets. They confirm his theory of the case. Their violence gives Trump an excuse to overreact and put troops in the streets. This is the bright line: martial law gives Trump an excuse to move toward authoritarianism. I have no sympathy for people throwing chunks of concrete or Molotov cocktails at the police. The use of tear gas against such people is not an overreaction. The arrest of such people is a necessity.
Even the nonviolent versions of these protests will fail until American flags far outnumber Mexican ones. I haven’t seen a single American flag in the clips shown on TV. That is not just disgraceful, it is very stupid.
**
Colby Hall, “Trump’s National Guard Stunt in LA Is Pure Political Theater”:”
The media isn’t causing the crisis, but it is framing it and serving as a catalyst for escalation. And in 2025, framing is reality. Twitter clips loop endlessly, TikToks go viral before a single tear gas canister is deployed, and the story — “Unrest in L.A.” — takes on a life of its own. Never mind that so many of the videos rocketing across social media are years old. It’s good for cable news ratings. It’s good for politicians. It’s lousy for nuance.
And it’s not without serious stakes. Trump’s move to send the National Guard into Los Angeles may play as mere political chest-thumping to some, but others see a trial balloon for something more dangerous. Each deployment chips away at the barrier between civilian rule and militarized control. And when protestors wave Mexican flags — perhaps to show pride, perhaps as defiance — it plays directly into Trump’s most dystopian rhetoric alleging an immigrant invasion. It becomes proof of concept for the authoritarian message he’s been delivering for a decade: that America is under siege and only a strongman can protect it.
Tuesday dogs
I decided to rewatch “Babylon Berlin” last night. The boys joined me for the binge.
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