Washington Examiner Editor-in-Chief Hugo Gurdon said, despite the narrative being pushed in the media by Democrats about how the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots began in Los Angeles, the violence actually erupted long before the deployment of the National Guard.

Gurdon argued that society has become increasingly tolerant of destructive behavior, a trend that predates the 2020 George Floyd protests. 

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“Free expression is a good thing. Protest is allowed, but the point about free speech is that it should be speech,” Gurdon said Monday on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. “You cannot express yourself legitimately by throwing rocks and incinerating police cars.”

Responding to criticism of President Donald Trump‘s decision to deploy the National Guard, Gurdon said the president acted within his legal authority and did not overstep his presidential powers.

“It is the duty of the administration to protect the constitution, to protect order and keep citizens safe,” Gurdon said. “I think it is probably a good idea for people to realize that if they behave as badly as the people in Los Angeles … in these areas have been behaving, they will be treated in a very tough way. They should not think this is consequence-free. The need to have consequences.”

Regarding immigration, Gurdon discussed provisions in the “big, beautiful bill.” He voiced concern over excessive government spending at a time when illegal border crossings have dropped by 95%, attributing the decline to the new administration.

According to Gurdon, this did not arise from new spending, but from a new president “determined not to let in illegal immigrants.”

“The Washington Examiner has certainly supported changes in the Senate to the bill related to state and local tax deductions, which a handful of Republicans from blue states are insisting on,” Gurdon said. “We would like to see that reduced.”

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Gurdon added that Capitol Hill Republicans know that if they vote against the bill, they will allow taxes to go up by $4.5 trillion over the next 10 years.

“Do they want to be going into the election in 2026, 2028, etc., having prevented the current tax rates from continuing and therefore having voted for a massive hike?” Gurdon asked.