On the campaign track last year, Donald Trump promised that he was not going to tolerate left anarchy in the American streets and would use all the strength of his presidential powers in response.
The demonstrations against the efforts of immigration and customs application (ICE) in California on Saturday evening gave him an opening to follow this promise.
It does not matter that the Los Angeles Police Service (LAPD) said that the demonstrations were largely peaceful, or that local authorities said they could manage the clashes that had become violent.
Trump administration officials said immigration agents were targeted and injured – and that local police had been too slow to respond.
“While waiting for several hours for the LAPD to introduce itself – or they tell us that they do not support us until they have an officer in a dangerous situation – is something that is simply not feasible when you have violent demonstrations,” said violent protests on Sunday morning, “said the Secretary of Internal Security, Kirsty Noem.
The LAPD said that it “acted as quickly as securely secure” and began to disperse the crowds within 55 minutes of receiving the call.
During the objection of the governor of California Gavin Newsom, Trump federalized the 2,000 soldiers of the National Guard of California, and the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that the American Marines were also “very alert” to deploy – which would mark a rare use of the active army on American soil.
Trump was declared victory on Sunday morning and thanked the national guard for restoring peace, even if the guard had not yet been fully gathered.
The speed at which Trump reacted suggests that this is a fight for his administration – and even eager to have.
The White House believes that the law and the aggressive order and application of immigration are gaining problems for him.
Its actions will empty its main base of supporters and could influence the political self -employed concerned about public security.
Noem, in his interview, said that Black Lives Matters 2020 demonstrations in Minnesota were authorized to spread without control – and that the new Trump administration was going to manage things differently.
“We are not going to let a 2020 rehearsal occur,” she said.
The Democrats, however, said that the use by the administration of immigration agents masked with military equipment to stop civilians in restaurants and stores has been inflammatory and that the president’s eagerness to deploy trained soldiers was unjustified.
“For the president to do it when it has not been asked, breaking with traditions of tradition, will only encourage the situation and worsen things,” said New Jersey senator Cory Booker.
“Many of these peaceful demonstrations are generated because the President of the United States sowed chaos and confusion by arresting people who present themselves for their immigration hearings, who are trying to respect the law.”
The United States has a long tradition of summer demonstrations, and it was only in early June.
Five months after Trump’s second term, these Californian demonstrations can be an isolated event – or the start of larger civilian troubles in the coming days.