‘This is deliberate political theater:’ Retired 4-star general scoffs at Trump’s handling of LA protests

Dozens of people have been arrested in Los Angeles after multiple days of protesting immigration raids led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In response, President Donald Trump sent another 2,000 National Guard troops, in addition to sending 700 Marines, to Los Angeles to quell the protests. Trump has defended his decision despite California Governor Gavin Newsom pursuing legal action against the decision, calling the move “the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president.”

“This is very serious, deliberate political theater on both sides,” retired four-star General Barry McCaffrey said on “The Gee and Ursula Show.” “The only real issue at stake here is that Trump ran for office saying, ‘I will close the border and I will deport 10 million illegal migrants.’ He’s accomplished closing the border, and now he’s terrorizing a huge population in the U.S. who are here primarily illegally, but employed, paying their taxes, paying Social Security, and they’re facing expulsion from the country.”

McCaffrey added that the 4,000 federalized National Guard troops and the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines are not engaged or needed for riot control.

“This is a political event, and it’s bad for the country,” McCaffrey said.

Trump publicly voiced his support for the arrest of Newsom, saying, “I would do it if I were Tom,” when asked by FOX News if  “Border Czar” Tom Homan should arrest him.

“It’s extreme levels of political immaturity, acting out this kind of fantasy,” McCaffrey said. “If (Newsom) was arrested, it would probably do a lot of political good (for him).”

“Do you foresee Donald Trump continuing this same behavior?” KIRO host Gee Scott asked.

“Until he is stopped by the court system, the media, the voters, he’ll proceed in the direction of authoritarian rule,” McCaffrey answered. “It’s authoritarianism. He’s basically ruling by decree, by executive order, and then seeing if anybody opposes them. And that’s not healthy for this democracy. We’re moving in the wrong direction.”

Could Trump send troops to WA?

Governor Bob Ferguson signed a bill into law on April 21 that restricts out-of-state military forces from entering Washington.

“So this year, our governor signed into law a bill that would require the governor’s permission for the National Guard from any other state to be deployed in Washington,” KIRO host Ursula Reutin said. “Of course, this all becomes pertinent because of what is going on in Los Angeles.”

The law went into effect immediately due to an emergency clause.

On the federel level, Title 10 of U.S. Code states the president can nationalize and call up the National Guard from any state under three conditions: The invasion or threat of invasion of the U.S.; rebellion or insurrection against federal authority; and when U.S. laws are being obstructed and local law enforcement can’t handle it.

Rioters disrupting the protesters’ message

“We’ve seen that there are protesters, and then there are rioters,” Ursula said. “People who were throwing stuff at the police. People who are setting cars on fire. There are people who are vandalizing stuff, and, in my opinion, in the name of protest, that is not effective. That is not OK and their butt should be in jail.

“But the question is, should the National Guard be called in in this situation when you’ve got a governor and the mayor of the city and, at one point, LAPD saying, ‘We’ve got this under control?'” Ursula asked. “Then, at some point, the police chief says, ‘Well, if it continues, maybe we would need the help from the National Guard.'”

The deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles will cost at least $134 million and last at least the next 60 days, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Tuesday.

“The Trump regime, I mean, administration, is playing great chess,” Gee said. “Because what they are doing is, they know any move you make right now, they’re going to come and they’re going to do their thing. I don’t think you can go and protest the same as you used to before, because the Trump administration is playing chess. They want you to go out there. Let’s just say 100 people are out there, and 99 are protesters with signs in the air. Then there’s one person who throws a rock. It only takes one person to set it off, and here comes what Trump wants. The Trump administration goes around the U.S. saying, ‘Look at what they’re doing.’ Now you lose Ursula, you lose me, and you lose a lot of people because we can’t disagree that the rioters are making it bad for the protesters.”

Listen to the full conversation here.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.