"America First" is not only the most famous Trumpist slogan; the phrase also sums up a shift in the country's military priorities, as seen amid the tensions in Los Angeles. There are currently more American soldiers in the city than in Iraq (2,500) and in Syria (1,500), a fact the Pentagon has openly acknowledged.

In total, 4,800 members of the California National Guard and Marines have been deployed around federal buildings to support local police and ICE agents – the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The authorities have even released photos showing soldiers armed with assault rifles protecting police officers during the arrest of undocumented migrants, though it remains unclear whether their weapons were loaded or what the full scope of their authority was. On the evening of Thursday, June 12, in San Francisco, a federal judge ordered Donald Trump to return the National Guard to the control of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom had published images of soldiers sleeping on the floor in a building basement – evidence of the improvised nature of the deployment.

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