President Donald Trump and Republicans are putting Democrats in the difficult political position of having to defend protests over illegal immigrants as the White House tries to project strength with the president’s deployment of the National Guard to respond to the Los Angeles riots.
In an echo of their reaction to the Department of Government Efficiency’s federal government reforms, Democrats are having to provide a nuanced defense of protests, which became violent last weekend, over Immigration and Customs Enforcement workplace raids in Los Angeles.
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And, in the words popularized by former President Ronald Reagan, “If you’re explaining, you’re losing.”
Democrats’ conundrum is twofold. First, Trump’s immigration crackdown is popular, arguably less so in California, but popular in the aggregate across the country. Secondly, some Democrats, including those speculated to be 2028 presidential candidates, are calling on the party to be less “woke” after the 2020 racially charged unrest following the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), a likely 2028 candidate, has dominated the political spotlight amid the riots, particularly after Trump encouraged border czar Tom Homan to arrest him. Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have mounted a legal challenge against Trump, but it has been Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D-CA), embattled after her bungled management of this year’s deadly wildfires, who has been most notably pressed on the immigration component of Democrats’ problem.
“I want to share the CBS poll. It shows 54% of Americans approve of the Trump administration’s program to deport illegal immigrants. A minority, 46%, disapprove,” CNN anchor Pamela Brown told Bass in an interview before asking, “Are Democrats out of touch on this issue?”
Bass said, “People might approve that policy, but do people really approve of the federal government coming in and seizing power from a state and from a city? I do not believe that Americans support the federal intervention and a city takeover or a state takeover.”
Rep. David Valadao (D-CA) has also tried to strike a balance on immigration, encouraging ICE “to prioritize the removal of known criminals over the hardworking people who have lived peacefully in [California’s Central] Valley for years.”
Regarding concerns with woke-ism, Democrats, in conversations with the Washington Examiner, have underscored the difference between peaceful and violent protests as they try to express support for the former while condemning the latter.
“We all condemn the violence and burning of cars,” Rep. Luz Rivas (D-CA) told the Washington Examiner. “If people are committing crimes, they should be arrested during a protest.”
However, Rivas added that a campaign aide of hers who took part in one of the protests in Los Angeles was sprayed with tear gas “without any incident from the group.”
“The National Guard is trying to instigate the violence, just their presence,” she said.
During a press conference, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), along with many other California Democrats, amplified Rivas’s point, reiterating that Democrats “do not want any violent protest” and alleging that those responsible for the violence are most likely outside agitators, not anti-immigration enforcement demonstrators.
“When there is a gathering, a large gathering of people, the anarchists see it as an opportunity, and they move in,” Pelosi said Tuesday. “[We] always have to be careful, whether you see a burned car, a broken window, or whatever it is — it may be the exuberance of the moment, but it may be the anarchist setting in.”
Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) added, “We strongly condemn the agitators who are committing acts of violence. Their behavior is completely unacceptable. You’re giving people like Stephen Miller exactly the images that they want, and that makes it even easier to then pick a fight over political retribution.”
Others, including Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-CA), have downplayed reports of looting, contending Trump and Republicans are “just trying to play up the situation into something that it is not to justify his means, of sending out the National Guard, of bringing in Marines, because he wants to instigate a confrontation so that he can go out and declare the Insurrection Act or declare martial law.”
To that end, Trump has indicated his willingness to invoke the Insurrection Act, which could be used to widen the scope of the deployment of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles to help the city’s police officers and ICE agents with the protests, which started on Friday. On Monday, Trump ordered about 700 Marines to California and another 2,000 National Guard members. This brought the total number of National Guard members in the area to 4,000. None of these actions were taken in coordination with Newsom or Bass, which is the basis of Newsom’s lawsuit.
“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “If we didn’t get involved, right now Los Angeles would be burning just like it was burning a number of months ago, with all the houses that were lost. Los Angeles right now would be on fire, and we have it in great shape. I’m not playing around.”
Trump also previewed similar ICE workplace raids in other cities in the coming days, weeks, and months, warning people who are considering organizing more protests that they will “be met with equal or greater force than we met right here.”
Democrats were already on defense regarding the Los Angeles riots, given Trump’s positive polling on immigration and law and order. They are also on defense after Trump and the White House went on the offense following several negative headlines regarding last week’s public breakdown of Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk and resignations that the “one big, beautiful” bill may not pass the Senate by Independence Day.
“Donald Trump has lost total control inside the White House — his signature bill is despised by nearly everyone, and his very public breakup with Elon is a national embarrassment,” Democratic National Committee Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman told the Washington Examiner. “Now he thinks he can regain control by turning California into a military battlefield. This is a disturbing sideshow of political theatrics that will get people hurt on America’s own soil.”
However, as Democrats continue to struggle with how to message against Trump, former Republican National Committee Communications Director Doug Heye told the Washington Examiner the party is overthinking its strategy to its detriment.
“Newsom has it right — Trump wants chaos because he thrives on it and he’s betting that he’ll get credit for ending this,” Heye said. “So don’t set things on fire — and don’t be scared to criticize those who do. Life ain’t hard sometimes.”
Democrats encountered the same dynamic earlier in Trump’s second administration when they sought to defend federal government employees dismissed by DOGE while opposing fraud and waste, again, explaining a nuanced position.
When Musk’s DOGE efforts were at their most frenetic, former Biden administration aide Andrew Bates urged Democrats to acknowledge that “fraud and waste are real” and the party is “overwhelmingly against both.”
“It’s a mistake for some in the party to oppose the goal of DOGE itself,” Bates told the Washington Examiner at the time. “We need to be clear we are eager to cut fat and deny Republicans the false contrast they want, then blast the harm Musk is causing to real people by using a chainsaw instead of a scalpel — like putting military families through hell, making it impossible for Americans to get through to Social Security, or firing the staff who keep nukes secure.”
Trump made it clear at a rally at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday that he has no intention of backing down in Los Angeles.
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“As the entire world can now see, uncontrolled migration leads to chaos, dysfunction, and disorder,” Trump said.
“Very simply, we will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean, and safe again,” he added.