{"id":14550,"date":"2025-06-10T17:07:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T17:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14550"},"modified":"2025-06-10T17:07:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T17:07:53","slug":"trump-is-acting-like-an-authoritarian-californias-crisis-now-rests-on-what-he-does-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14550","title":{"rendered":"Trump is acting like an authoritarian; California\u2019s crisis now rests on what he does next"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For all Trump\u2019s multiple previous challenges to the rule of law and democracy, a grave new chapter may be opening.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Stephen Collinson<\/a>, CNN<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donald Trump is talking and acting like an authoritarian as he escalates a constitutional clash with California<\/a> over his migration crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much now depends on whether he\u2019s simply talking tough or if he\u2019s ready to take an already-tense nation across a fateful line in his zeal for strongman rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a mind-boggling moment, on Monday, the president of the United States \u2014 the country seen as the world\u2019s top steward of democracy for 80 years \u2014 endorsed the arrest<\/a> of the Democratic governor of the nation\u2019s most populous state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it would be a great thing,\u201d Trump, the only convicted felon ever to serve as president, told reporters as he strode across the South Lawn of the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, Trump deployed hundreds of active-duty Marines<\/a> to Los Angeles and authorized the arrival of 2,000 more National Guard reservists after a weekend of unrest that saw clashes with police and burning cars in contained areas of the city. The protests were triggered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps seeking undocumented migrants in a city and state that are epicenters of Democratic power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California and Los Angeles officials reject Trump\u2019s claims that they have lost control. On Monday evening, law enforcement officers pushed back demonstrators throwing projectiles with flash bangs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s decision to deploy troops despite the opposition of California Gov. Gavin Newsom represented the latest example of his willingness to flex extraordinary executive power \u2014 often on questionable grounds \u2014 and marked a break with a first term when he was often talked out of his extreme impulses by establishment officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all Trump\u2019s multiple previous challenges to the rule of law and democracy, a grave new chapter may be opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president is forcibly overriding the authority of the governor and mayor and using the military as a political weapon. This unprecedented move threatens to turn a tense situation into a national crisis,\u201d Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said on Monday evening. \u201cSince our nation\u2019s founding, the American people have been perfectly clear: we do not want the military conducting law enforcement on US soil,\u201d Reed said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California Democratic Rep. Nanette Barrag\u00e1n, whose district encompasses Paramount, just south of Los Angeles, condemned Trump\u2019s mobilizations of troops that she said were not justified by the situation. \u201cThis is where I think this is a sign of a dictator,\u201d she told CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper. \u201cAnd the threat he is making against the governor to arrest him \u2014 I mean come on \u2014 that is pretty outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump border czar tells CNN that Democratic claims about troops are \u2018ridiculous\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Top Trump administration officials are throwing around words like \u201cinsurrection.\u201d Not surprisingly, many observers have taken such rhetoric as a sign the White House is prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act<\/a> \u2014 a law that would allow the president to activate troops to put down a rebellion in a state. There is no such revolt in California. Trump\u2019s claims on Monday that his swift action stopped Los Angeles being obliterated are also not true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president\u2019s border czar Tom Homan, meanwhile, told CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins<\/a> that claims by Democratic officials that protests intensified because Trump sent National Guard troops were \u201cridiculous.\u201d Joining \u201cThe Source\u201d from Los Angeles, Homan said, \u201cIt all depends on the activities of these protesters\u2014 I mean, they make the decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protesters gathered in large numbers in Los Angeles on Monday night, raising the prospect of another cycle of tension and uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trajectory of the crisis could now turn on whether Trump follows through on his dictator\u2019s theatrics by crossing lines not approached by modern presidents \u2014 notably on the use of troops in a law enforcement capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may also rely on the restraint of protesters, who would play into Trump\u2019s hands by taking part in more unrest that creates alarming television pictures that can fuel Trump\u2019s dystopian rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating or escalating a law-and-order crisis or threat to public security and then using it to justify the use of the military on domestic soil would mirror the methodology of tyrannical leaders throughout history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And hopes of restraint are hardly supported by Trump\u2019s second term so far<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president has, for instance, invoked highly contentious national emergencies<\/a> on immigration and trade to unlock rarely used executive powers with no pushback from the Republican Congress. He\u2019s used presidential authority against what he regards as centers of liberal authority and influence: at Ivy League universities, in the federal government and in the media. And even in his breakup with erstwhile DOGE chief Elon Musk<\/a> last week, Trump threatened yet another abuse of power by cancelling federal subsidies for the SpaceX boss\u2019s firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration is spoiling for a fight as it lays down a marker in California for other Democratic states where leaders are loath to cooperate with Trump\u2019s deportation purge. It obviously also perceives a political advantage in the president positioning himself as the guardian of public order in a way that allows Republicans to accuse Democrats of defending softer immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Trump for real or is he bluffing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But as ever with Trump, there\u2019s a question as to whether he\u2019s serious with his threats or is staking out an extreme position to please his voters or even to create some perceived leverage for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homan, for instance, told CNN\u2019s Collins that Newsom had \u201cabsolutely not\u201d done anything at this point to justify his arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer adopted the classic GOP line that not everything that the president says should be taken literally when asked about administration threats to detain Newsom. \u201cYou guys could ask every day if I am comfortable with what he said. He hasn\u2019t arrested him. I can\u2019t imagine that he is going to arrest Gavin Newsom,\u201d Cramer told CNN\u2019s Manu Raju.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cramer also voiced the view of many Republicans that, far from behaving like an authoritarian, Trump is rightfully addressing failures by Democratic leaders on immigration policy and public order. \u201cThere\u2019s no question about it: Places like California have thumbed their noses at the American people and decided they want to be sanctuary for criminals,\u201d Cramer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, National Guard reservists mobilized by the president over the head of a state governor for the first time since the Civil Rights era in the 1960s have mostly been used to defend federal buildings in Los Angeles. While the announcement of a deployment of Marines to the city was superficially alarming, their orders prohibit them from conducting law enforcement activities like making arrests without Trump invoking the Insurrection Act. The Marines are expected to be used to bolster National Guard members on the ground while up to 2,000 reservists are mobilized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN\u2019s Evan Perez, meanwhile, reported on Monday evening<\/a> that while officials like top White House aide Stephen Miller have been talking about an \u201cinsurrection,\u201d administration lawyers have been working to craft a much less confrontational way of protecting the federal government\u2019s ability to carry out immigration enforcement, hoping to avoid further inflaming the situation, according to multiple people briefed on the discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may all signify that the president is not yet ready to push the nation toward an unprecedented authoritarian cliff \u2014 even if his personal history, not least over January 6, 2021, suggests that in the heat of the moment he often takes the most reckless course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Trump may be playing with fire in a city and state where anger over his wild four-month-old presidency is boiling. By inserting troops into such a volatile and tense environment, he\u2019s opening the possibility that flashpoints could ignite and even that tragic circumstances could unfold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then again, maybe that\u2019s the point, if the president is seeking a predicate to deploy active-duty troops on the streets of American cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another troubling omen is that Newsom \u2014 who, like Trump, relishes public fights \u2014 has no incentive to cave to the man he would like to replace as president in 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsom, for example, wrote on social media on Monday that the president was deploying another 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, even though only 300 from his initial 2,000-strong contingent had so far arrived in the city. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about public safety. It\u2019s about stroking a dangerous President\u2019s ego,\u201d the governor said. \u201cThis is Reckless. Pointless. And Disrespectful to our troops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state has sued the administration<\/a> over that initial call-up of reservists. State Attorney General Rob Bonta called Trump\u2019s federalization of the state\u2019s National Guard troops \u201cunnecessary, counterproductive, and most importantly, unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suit created yet another legal morass around one of Trump\u2019s most aggressive power grabs. California has now lodged 24 lawsuits<\/a> against the administration in 19 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With every day that passes in the California public order crisis, the political incentives seem to be driving toward more confrontation rather than a peaceful resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But ultimately it\u2019s up to Trump how this ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For all Trump’s multiple previous challenges to the rule of law and democracy, a grave new chapter may be opening. By Stephen Collinson, CNN Donald Trump is talking and acting like an authoritarian as he […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,64],"tags":[83,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-14550","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-slider","8":"category-california","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14553,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14550\/revisions\/14553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}