National Guard in California Trump breaks another taboo - is he trying to distract from his dispute with Musk?
Trump wants mass deportations. He is risking conflict with the Democratic governor of California for this. But this could actually suit him politically.
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- US President Donald Trump has ordered the National Guard to California because of protests in Los Angeles - against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom.
- Trump is thus breaking another taboo against deploying a state's National Guard without the consent of the respective governor.
- The escalation could suit the US President. For days, the media has been focusing on his dispute with his former political ally, tech billionaire Musk.
- Newsom explained that Trump is deliberately inflaming the situation by mobilizing the National Guard and is willingly accepting further escalation.
Resistance is futile, that is the message from US President Donald Trump: in the Democratic-ruled state of California, the Republican wants to enforce his goal of mass deportation of undocumented foreigners with the help of military security forces.
To this end, he is also breaking the taboo of not deploying a state's National Guard without the consent of the respective governor. Trump presents himself as a tough sheriff and accuses the Democrats responsible in California of making common cause with criminals.
In the face of sporadic protests against officials of the US immigration authority ICE in the Los Angeles area since Friday, Trump ordered the deployment of at least 2,000 National Guard soldiers to bring the situation under control.
No president has used the National Guard like this in 60 years
An expert quoted by the New York Times said it was the first time in 60 years that the president had used a state's National Guard without the consent of a governor. The last time was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson deployed soldiers to protect the almost exclusively black demonstrators during the civil rights movement in the southern state of Alabama.
California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom explained that Trump was deliberately inflaming the situation by mobilizing the National Guard and was accepting a further escalation. Such a deployment is not the job of the National Guard "and will shake public confidence". There was no shortage of security forces, the government wanted to stage "a spectacle". He appealed to the demonstrators to remain peaceful and not to offer the government any pretext.
Defense minister threatens military action
Trump's government is even threatening to deploy the regular armed forces at home. That would be an even greater breach of taboo. Defence Minister Pete Hegseth explained that, if necessary, marines from the armed forces stationed in California could also be mobilized. "They are on high alert," he wrote on Platform X. Newsom reacted in horror: the Secretary of Defense was threatening to use soldiers "on American soil against its own citizens", he wrote on X. "This is deranged behavior."
The protests in the Los Angeles area that broke out on Friday - some of which were violent - were directed against the security forces of the US immigration authority ICE, who were arresting undocumented migrants in order to deport them. The White House spoke of "normal deportation operations". Some demonstrators threw stones at the security forces, among other things. The US Department of Homeland Security, which reports to Trump, spoke of a massive escalation.
Escalation in California provides distraction from dispute with Musk
Trump also won the election with the promise of mass deportations. He wants to deport undocumented foreigners at all costs - and is breaking many a taboo to do so.
The focus on the situation in California could also come in handy politically, as he has had to answer questions about his public rift with tech billionaire Elon Musk for days and is facing criticism of his tax and budget laws.
The security forces confronted the demonstrators in full riot gear with shields and helmets, and tear gas was also used. According to local media reports, rubber bullets and smoke grenades were also used in isolated incidents.
The US President's official announcement stated that the National Guard would be deployed for 60 days or as long as the Secretary of Defense deems necessary. If necessary, the Secretary may also deploy members of the regular US military "on a scale he deems appropriate", it continued. The soldiers were to put an end to the "lawlessness" in the Los Angeles area, explained White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. According to local media reports, the first troops arrived on Sunday.
Sovereignty over the National Guard lies with the states
In the USA, the states normally have control over the National Guard. The National Guard is a military reserve unit and part of the US armed forces. Each state has its own National Guard, which can be deployed in the event of forest fires, hurricanes, flooding or civil unrest. It is then under the command of the respective governor. In the event of war or national emergencies, the US President can take command. In total, the USA has more than 325,000 National Guardsmen.
US senator speaks of "unprecedented" step
One of California's two US senators, Adam Schiff, called the deployment of the National Guard against the will of the governor "unprecedented". This was intended to create chaos and cause an escalation. He called for an end to the violence - there is "nothing President Trump would want more than violent clashes with protesters" to justify the use of the military or some form of martial law, Schiff warned on X.
Trump disparages Californian governor
Immediately before the White House's decision, Trump had already issued a threat: If Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not do their jobs properly, the government would step in and solve the problem with "riots and looters". Instead of using the governor's correct surname, Trump referred to him as "Newscum" in his post on the Truth Social platform - a play on words with the English term "scum", which means "scum" in German.
The disparagement of the Democratic governor also points to the political dimension of the case: Newsom is not only one of the most prominent Democrats, he is also considered a possible contender for his party's presidential candidacy in the 2028 election. What's more, Newsom governs an enormously economically strong state with just under 40 million inhabitants - that's more than a tenth of the US population.
It was only on Friday that Newsom openly challenged Trump on Platform X. Following reports that the government wanted to cut billions in funding for projects in Democratic California, he wrote that Californians were paying the federal government's bills. Citizens were paying a good 80 billion dollars more in taxes to Washington than the country was getting back. "Maybe it's time to stop this, @realDonaldTrump," he wrote, addressing Trump.
"Violent uprising" against state power?
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, and the local police distanced themselves from the ICE operations. As usual, they do not want to cooperate with the federal authorities in their jurisdictions in order to facilitate normal deportations. This is the attitude of many Democrat-controlled municipalities in the USA.
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, around 1000 protesters attacked ICE officials on Friday. The local police only intervened after two hours, the ministry criticized. Over the course of the week, 118 undocumented aliens were arrested in Los Angeles, including gang members and people with criminal records.
Justice Minister Pam Bondi warned on X that anyone obstructing or attacking security forces would face prosecution. FBI Director Kash Patel also threatened to deploy his agents.
