June 12, 2025
By Marc Stier
Let me connect some dots between what’s happening in Los Angeles and what’s happening in Congress and a few other places.
Some of the protests in LA have been violent. I, like most people on the Left, oppose that violence.
But let’s be real. Before the Guard and other military were called in, the protests were mainly peaceful. We saw mainly a garden-variety kind of violence, of the kind that happens in our country often, such as when the local sports team wins a championship. Since then, violence has been exacerbated by the presence of the Guard and military.
There was no need to call out the National Guard—and if there had been, Governor Newsom would have done so.
Trump has been lying through his teeth about what is going on in LA to justify federalizing the national guard and calling out the military to engage in inappropriate and illegal domestic action. Federal law that allows for federalizing the guard says that it can only be justified by an invasion being carried out by a “foreign nation” or by a rebellion that is undermining the federal government. What has been going on in LA since then does not constitute an “invasion” or “rebellion.”
So, he’s not taking these actions to put down a so-called “rebellion” or “invasion” but (1) to convince people that there is a rebellion and invasion in the first place—why would you need troops otherwise?—and (2) to normalize an expanded role for federal troops in our country.
His goals are to use the military to block protests, to jail his enemies, and ultimately to interfere with the 2026 election.
Why is he doing this now?
I have a guess.
Congress is about to pass a reconciliation bill that is already unpopular because it deeply cuts SNAP and Medicaid to pay for a tax cut that overwhelmingly goes to the rich. And, as even the Republicans understand, it is likely to become even more unpopular after it’s passed and as we do our work in informing people about what’s in it. And the bill includes a great deal of additional funding for the purpose of terrorizing and deporting immigrants. (This is what happened to the 2017 tax cut which was deeply underwater in the polls by the 2018 election. And this bill is far worse.)
And he’s taking other actions that are already unpopular, such as imposing his tariffs. They, too, will become more unpopular as they cause stagflation.
Trump is acting now to reassure Republicans that they can vote for the abominable bill and support him otherwise without worrying about losing a free election in 2026—because there won’t be one. And this action is part of the continued intimidation that’s making members of his own party, most law firms, universities, and corporations knuckle under to his unconstitutional demands.