Donald Trump went on a late-night social media tantrum Sunday, attacking the anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles where he unleashed the National Guard.
Large protests in and around Los Angeles erupted Friday after immigration authorities arrested at least 44 people as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. By Saturday, Trump overrode California Governor Gavin Newsom’s authority and called in the National Guard, the first time that force has been federalized since 1992.
Trump was quick to invent his own narrative to support this unprecedented step, in a post on Truth Social.
“A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals,” Trump wrote Sunday. “Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations—But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve.”
Trump said he had directed his agency heads to “take all such necessary action to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion and put an end to these Migrant riots.”
But as the protests stretched into the night, Trump continued his screed. He went on to attack Newsom, who has refused to back down from the administration’s escalating threats, and Mayor Karen Bass, who said she had been “disappointed” in the president’s decision to deploy the National Guard as it was “just political.”
Trump was incensed. “Governor Gavin Newscum and ‘Mayor’ Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots. These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists. Remember, NO MASKS!” he wrote.
Trump couldn’t seem to stop posting about the protests, smearing the protesters who have been subjected to flash grenades and tear gas. “Paid Insurrectionists!” Trump wrote in another post.
Trump continued to try and cheerlead his outrageous response to the protests. “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he added past midnight.
“ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW! he wrote in yet another post.