This morning, I quote David Frum in the Atlantic:
“Yesterday, President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard to quell disorderly protests against immigration-enforcement personnel in Los Angeles. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared his readiness to obey Trump by mobilizing the U.S. Marines as well. These threats look theatrical and pointless. The state, counties, and cities of California employ more than 75,000 uniformed law-enforcement personnel with arrest powers. The Los Angeles Police Department alone numbers nearly 9,000 uniformed officers. They can surely handle some dozens of agitators throwing rocks, shooting fireworks, and impeding vehicular traffic.
“If and when those 75,000 uniformed personnel feel overmatched by the agitators, California can request federal help of its own volition. When California has asked for needed federal help—during the wildfires earlier this year, for example—Trump has begrudged that help and played politics with it. Trump is now forcing help that the city and state do not need and do not want, not to restore law but to assert his personal dominance over the normal procedures to enforce the law.”
As I and many other journalists have warned since Trump was elected, he will use protests such as those in L.A. as an excuse to expand his power. His ultimate goal is to establish himself as an authoritarian leader.
As Frum says, this is merely a “dress rehearsal.”
Thanks to Leslie McNeill for a section of clips on California’s response to Trump even before the protests, plus reports from many of the U-C campuses on critical research they are doing that is threatened by Trump’s war on knowledge.
HEADLINES:
Donald Trump orders National Guard to LA after clashes over immigration raids (BBC)
For Trump, This Is a Dress Rehearsal — Ordering the National Guard to deploy in Los Angeles is a warning of what to expect when his hold on power is threatened. (Atlantic)
Photos: A fierce pushback on ICE raids in L.A. from protesters, officials (LAT)
Agents Use Military-Style Force Against Protesters at L.A. Immigration Raid (NYT)
U.S. job growth slows (Reuters)
Trump threatens ‘very serious consequences’ if Musk backs Democrats (WP)
Trump Issues Jaw-Dropping Authoritarian Threat to Elon Musk (DailyBeast)
Inside the battles that shattered Trump and Musk’s alliance (WP)
Colombia's potential presidential contender Miguel Uribe shot, suspect arrested (Reuters)
White House security staff warned Musk’s Starlink is a security risk (WP)
New questions emerge from the new charges in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case (NBC)
Russia faces struggle to replace bombers (Reuters)
Weeping Trump Boys Told ‘Uncle Elon’ Blown Up In Rocket Accident (The Onion)
LESLIE’s LINKS:
Newsom, Pelosi fire back at potential Trump cuts to state — California officials blasted President Trump on Friday after learning of plans to starve the state of federal funding. “We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back,” Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X. “Maybe it’s time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump.” (SFC)
Gene therapy shows promise for halting Alzheimer's (UC San Diego)
An AI that's a better friend--and maybe a lifeline for humanity (UC Irvine)
Democracies boost women's participation in the labor market (UC Riverside)
An open-sea rafting world record for . . . iguanas? (UC Berkeley)
Reading list: Teenage secrets and the dark he art of suburbia (UC Santa Barbara)
Reevaluating the nature of the universe (UC Santa Cruz)
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