Newsom says Trump is sowing ‘more chaos’ by sending Marines to LA : NPR

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said President Trump is sowing “more chaos” after the Trump administration mobilized hundreds of active-duty Marines to Los Angeles intended to control days-long anti-immigration enforcement protests in the city.

“He’s sowing more division,” Newsom told NPR on Monday. “He’s inciting just the same and more fear, more anxiety, more likelihood that people are going to be hurt.”

Newsom’s comments come after people in LA took to the streets in recent days to protest ICE immigration raids.

Trump announced Monday he would deploy 700 active-duty Marines to the city, along with an additional 2,000 National Guard troops on top of the 2,000 he mobilized over the weekend.

In a presidential memoranda, Trump argued that the National Guard deployment was necessary and defendable as these “violent protests threaten the security of and significant damage to Federal immigration detention facilities and other Federal property.” Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that LA would be “completely obliterated” without his deployment of the Guard.

However, some officials in California are calling this move an unnecessary escalation. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Newsom filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday accusing Trump of violating a federal statute by deploying the National Guard over the governor’s objections and violating the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In an interview with All Things Considered host Juana Summers, Newsom said the mobilization order was not done with communication to or approval by his office.

“It’s an illegal act. It’s immoral,” Newsom said. “It’s also unconstitutional, and the mobilization order that was sent to the guard has a statute that requires that it shall be issued through the governors of the states.”

Bonta told NPR the deployment also pulls National Guard strength from other duties, such as supporting wildfire fights and drug enforcement.

“Having the Marines brought in, in addition to the National Guard being brought in, is only unfortunately inflaming the situation, creating additional tension and provocation,” Bonta told Morning Edition.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

Juana Summers: This seems to have started over ICE agents attempting to carry out detentions. If they face threats by people who are trying to impede their work, Governor, would you instruct state or local law enforcement to assist them?

Gavin Newsom: We do not impede upon federal authority to enforce federal law with federal resources, period, full stop. That’s the state of California. And so my state of mind is they have a lawful right with a warrant to move in that direction. If they are attacked or if their lives are at risk, everybody has a responsibility — we all do — to protect the peace.

But what I do not support is these random acts that are occurring all over LA County. I’ve been meeting with leaders and activists that said in 30-plus years this simply has no precedent, and we’re just Day 4.

Summers: Now, Tom Homan, who is President Trump’s so-called border czar, has threatened arrest for anyone who gets in ICE’s way. And in another interview, you essentially told him to bring it on. [On Monday], President Trump told reporters that he would do it, if he were Tom, that he would arrest you. Are you prepared to be arrested?

Newsom: Yeah. It just shows the theater of the absurd. All this is, is weakness masquerading as strength, these tough guys. And I said, look, it’s Day 3 of threatening arrests, and I thought in my life I would never hear the words of the president of the United States of America — these are things you see in authoritarian regimes and dictatorships — and I never thought those words would be uttered by a president against a political opponent who happens to be governor because that governor disagrees with his unlawful orders.

Look, after three days of hearing this, you push back, but look, I have no problem. If he wants to arrest me, let’s dispense with the threats. If he wants to do it, let’s just get it done.

But what I’m sick of and what needs to end today is arresting children and creating a state of arrest all across our state, this chill where people aren’t even going to graduations — hundreds of graduations in LA County. Kids are scared to go to graduation. Families are unwilling to gather publicly. They’re scared to walk the streets. Stop that. You need someone’s head? You need to be the tough guy and you need to show how strong you are? Fine, take me out, but have some decency and have the backs of these children.

Summers: There are plans for more protests across this country outside of your state of California. Governor, any advice for other state and local leaders who may find themselves up against some of the same challenges that you and your state are facing today?

Newsom: Well, look, this is — in so many ways we’ve seen this movie before January 6. He stoked the anxiety, the fear. He helped create the conditions. And then he sat back as if he’s the music man or so, and he quite literally put people’s lives at risk.

And the Orwellian nature saying you care about law enforcement. He’s the guy who literally pardoned the people that attacked law enforcement and attacked the core constructs of our democracy. Well, he’s doing that again.

This is not about immigration. This is not about the state of California. This is about the state of our democracy. This is about the cornerstones of what this country was founded on, coequal branches of government and popular sovereignty, the rule of law.

And so my warning to every governor, regardless of your political stripe, is this is a preview of things to come. And I pray for only one thing, and that’s peace — peaceful protests.

And to the agitators, to the outliers, to those that are coming in to sow even more chaos than Donald Trump himself, that’s what he wants. And I also pray they are held to account. You can’t smash cars. You cannot create conditions that make peaceful protesting more difficult and play into Donald Trump’s hand. And so if there’s any counsel and advice, it’s to be very clear about the rules of that kind of engagement.

But the bottom line is Donald Trump has created this mess, and it will be governors across this country who will have to clean it up.