Republicans in Congress are backing President Donald Trump in his effort to crush the Los Angeles riots by any means necessary.
Protests broke out in LA on Friday in response to a wave of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting illegal immigrants, and the protests quickly escalated into violent riots. Trump signed a presidential memorandum taking command of 2,000 National Guard members on Saturday to quell the violence, the first of whom arrived in the city early Sunday morning. While Democrats decried the move, most Republicans were united in their support for it.
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“It’s tragic to see what’s happening in LA. I spent 20 years in the military. I fought in two wars. I fought to give people the freedom to protest whatever the hell they want to, but what we’re seeing in LA are not advocates. We’re seeing anarchists. And the President of the United States should absolutely put down the mob as soon as possible. But this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said in an appearance on CBS News’s Face the Nation.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) compared the situation to the nationwide riots following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“We watched this kind of scene five, six years ago, when there was a takeover in the northwest, around Seattle and Portland, when we watched all that happen, and local law enforcement was being challenged over and over again. It finally took a National Guard presence to be able to bring it down after weeks. What President Trump is trying to do is say ‘This is not going to take weeks this time,'” he said.
“‘We’re not going to allow this to be able to spiral out of control.’ This is an American city, and to be able to have an American city where we have people literally flying Mexican flags and saying ‘You cannot arrest us’ cannot be allowed. If someone violates the law, no matter what state that they’re in, they’re in violation of a federal law. They should face consequences for that,” Lankford added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also threw his support behind Trump’s handling of the situation, denying that the response was “heavy-handed” when asked.
“One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength. We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well. I don’t think that’s heavy-handed,” he responded.
“We have to be prepared to do what is necessary,” Johnson added when pressed on whether a threat to send in Marines to stop the violence was heavy-handed. “And I think the notice that that might happen might have the deterring effect.”
Democrats were unanimous in their criticism of Trump’s response.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) complained that Trump hadn’t responded similarly during the Jan. 6 riot, falsely claiming that police officers had been killed by protesters. He then blamed Trump for “sowing chaos” by carrying out ICE raids and deportations.
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“The reality is we see peaceful protests launching in Los Angeles. And again, any violence against police officers should not be accepted. Local authorities can handle that. But remember, a lot of these peaceful protests are being generated because the president United States is sowing chaos and confusion by arresting people who are showing up for their immigration hearings, who are trying to abide by the law,” Booker said, claiming that Trump supporters were “outraged” over the ICE raids.
The New Jersey Democrat then said the ICE raids were “not what he said he would do, which is focus … law enforcement resources on violent criminals and people that are a danger to other Americans.”