We're not even five months into Trump's second term as president and already the warnings from the 2024 Democratic campaign are coming true: if Trump is elected over Kamala Harris, our democracy will be threatened by authoritarianism.
It's happening faster than I expected.
Which means buckle up for the remaining three and a half years of Trump's time in the White House, because he's going to be putting pedal to the metal increasingly forcefully in his drive to become the first truly authoritarian president in our nation's history.
This evening the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, issued a warning in a speech about Trump's pouring fuel on the fire of protests against hard-working undocumented immigrants being detained in Los Angeles by putting 2,000 members of the state's National Guard under federal control and sending hundreds of Marines to deal with a crisis of Trump's own making.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned in a public address Tuesday evening that democracy in the United States “is under assault” and broadly accused President Donald Trump of acting like an authoritarian leader, characterizing his unilateral deployment of U.S. armed forces to Los Angeles as the first phase of an overall decay in citizens’ rights.
“This isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles. … This is about all of us,” Newsom said in his speech.“California may be first,” he added, “but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next.”
Newsom reiterated his accusations that Trump broke the law by deploying military forces to the protests, calling it a “brazen abuse of power” that “inflamed a combustible situation.” He said the ongoing raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were “very different than anything we’ve seen before,” and recounted the arrest of a U.S. citizen who was nine months pregnant, as well as the detainment of a 4-year-old girl.
He accused the Trump administration of “pushing mass deportations” and “indiscriminately targeting hardworking immigrant families,” pointing to raids near a Home Depot in a largely Latino suburb and a clothing company downtown. He rejected the idea that the immigration crackdown was focused on “serious criminals” or those with final deportation orders, and warned that migrants may just be the first vulnerable group to be targeted.
“If some of us could be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe,” Newsom stated. “Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves. But they do not stop there.”
The reality is that the protests in Los Angeles are limited to a few streets around the downtown federal building. Some jerks have set a few cars on fire, thrown fireworks at police, and hurled water bottles at law enforcement personnel.
The Sheriff of Los Angeles County has said that local authorities don't need any federal help in dealing with the protests. So has the Los Angeles Mayor, along with Governor Newsom. But Trump has pointed to protesters waving Mexican flags as evidence that an "invasion" of undocumented immigrants is taking place.
Well, I've seen demonstrators on college campuses waving Israeli flags. Why isn't this a sign that Israel is "invading" the United States?
It seems clear that Trump is using Los Angeles as a test case of how far he can go in using our military to crush dissent against his cruel, mindless policies. Newsom is absolutely correct. If Trump gets away with mobilizing the National Guard and Marines against protests by American citizens, he'll add this to his authoritarian playbook whenever people gather to say NO to his actions.
Today Trump threatened anyone who dares to protest his expensive military parade this Saturday in Washington D.C. that marks both the 250th anniversary of the U.S. army and Trump's 79th birthday.
“If there’s any protesters that want to come out, they’re will be met with very big force,” he said. “For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force. And I haven’t even heard about a protest. But, you know, this is, people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”
Note that Trump didn't threaten very big force against violent protestors. He threatened anyone who exercises their First Amendment right to protest what their president is doing. That use of free speech is fine in democracies. But Trump wants the United States to be more like Russia: a country run by an authoritarian where elections are held, but are meaningless, being controlled by the Authoritarian-in-Chief.
There's an increasing chance that Trump will use scattered protests against his policies in the run-up to the 2026 midterm election to declare that the United States is facing an insurrection by his favorite derogatory term, "people who hate our country." Then Trump would use martial law or some other bizarre legal theory to cancel the election in enough blue states to guarantee that Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate.
If that sounds wildly improbable, consider this: six months ago, how likely did it seem that a battalion of Marines would be sent to the streets of Los Angeles because a few protesters threw fireworks and water bottles at police officers? Very unlikely. Yet that is happening.
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