Here’s Why Trump Had No Choice But to Step In and Stop the Riots

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Los Angeles has been a hot mess for the past couple of days, absolutely embroiled in what we're told are “peaceful protests” against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for doing their jobs. But let’s call them for what they really are: violent riots.

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We've all seen the reports, the photos, and the videos, and they're not pretty. We're talking about mobs attacking a federal detention facility, chucking rocks at agents just trying to do their jobs, blocking official vehicles, destroying property, and, yes, even setting cars on fire while proudly waving foreign flags. 

That’s not peaceful protest

Yet, what was the response from local officials? A masterclass in failure, that's what. Mayor Karen Bass's first statement on Friday basically sounded like she was encouraging the bad actors. Then there's the fact that when DHS reported their building was surrounded, it took the LAPD a pathetic two hours to show up. 

Think about that: Two hours to respond to an assault on a federal building.

But the absolute pièce de résistance came late Saturday from the Los Angeles Police Department. Get a load of this. The LAPD, with a straight face, issued a statement claiming, "Today, demonstrations across the city of Los Angeles remained peaceful, and we commend all those who exercised their First Amendment rights responsibly." They actually thanked the participants and organizers for their "cooperation" in ensuring public safety and declared the protests concluded "without incident."

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Are you kidding me? "Peaceful"? "Without incident"? While federal agents were being attacked and property was being torched? This isn't just downplaying; it's a deliberate denial of reality. It sounds less like a police statement and more like something you'd read from the rioters' press office.

This is why President Donald Trump had to bring in the National Guard. Local leaders and law enforcement weren’t restoring law and order and so Trump had to step in. A decisive action was needed because local authorities dropped the ball. So, how did California's esteemed Governor Gavin Newsom react? Did he say, "Thank you, Mr. President, for stepping in where we couldn't”? Of course not. The problem wasn’t that Newsom couldn’t, it’s that he wouldn’t. So, he threw a complete tantrum, whining that bringing in the Guard would "erode trust." As if trust wasn't already eroded by the failure to stop the violence!

The LAPD wrapped it up by saying they remain committed to safeguarding Angelenos and will maintain a "heightened readiness posture." "Heightened readiness" to ensure safety? Given their response so far, that rings completely hollow. It looks like pretending violent riots are peaceful is the LAPD's new strategy. When local law enforcement refuses to see reality, let alone enforce the law, someone has to step up to restore order. 

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And once again, that someone was Donald Trump.

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