Trump Defends Los Angeles Troop Deployment: 'City Would Burn To The Ground If...'

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Last Updated:June 10, 2025, 19:51 IST

Los Angeles Protests: California Governor Gavin Newsom sharply criticized the deployment, calling it "the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president."

US President Donald Trump asserted that his decision to deploy Marines and other soldiers in Los Angeles prevented the city from descending into chaos. The US President said that without his intervention, the city “would be burning to the ground right now" amidst ongoing protests against immigration raids.

Writing on Truth Social, Donald Trump said, “If I didn’t ‘SEND IN THE TROOPS’ to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now." (sic)

Los Angles Protests And Troop Deployment

Approximately 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops have been mobilized in Los Angeles amid the unrest- highly controversial given that the American military typically holds no domestic law enforcement role. Historically, US Marines had been deployed domestically in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina and for the 26/11 attacks, though these contexts differ from the current situation. The last time a president deployed National Guard troops to a US city without a governor’s explicit approval was in 1965.

Donald Trump vs Gavin Newsom

California Governor Gavin Newsom sharply criticized the deployment, calling it “the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president." The state of California has confirmed it is suing the president, challenging the deployment of troops without the governor’s permission as District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that such an extensive deployment was unnecessary.

He argued that only a “small fraction" of the area’s population was protesting, and an even smaller number had engaged in unlawful acts.

Why Are Protests Taking Place In Los Angeles?

Chaotic protests in Los Angeles took place after federal immigration officers arrested large groups of unauthorised immigrants in areas with large Latino populations.

Despite legal challenges and local opposition, the White House maintains a firm stance as Donald Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, issued a direct warning, threatening that elected officials could face arrest if they interfered with agents on the ground.

“I’m telling you what, we’re going to keep enforcing law every day in L.A. Every day in L.A., we’re going to enforce immigration law. I don’t care if they like it or not. I’ll say it about anybody. You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job," he said.