Trump Sends Troops Into California. Who Needs a Governor, Right?

By Brian Hews

This weeked, President Trump made it clear: your state doesn’t matter. Your governor doesn’t matter. And your vote sure as hell doesn’t matter—at least not when it stands in the way of his latest attempt at power flexing.

In an unprecedented move, Trump ordered the National Guard into Los Angeles without Governor Gavin Newsom’s consent. Let that sink in. No request. No coordination. Just an executive pen and a show of federal force rolling down our streets.

This isn’t law and order. This is political theater with boots and rifles.

The justification? Protests—many of them peaceful—against ongoing immigration raids and detentions. But instead of addressing the root causes of unrest or engaging in actual leadership, Trump defaulted to his favorite move: military optics. Photo ops with Humvees. Troops stationed where elected officials never asked them to be. He even called it “rescuing” Los Angeles—as if we were on fire and he was the hero, not the arsonist with a badge.

Make no mistake: this is a test. A test to see how far he can go. A test of how many guardrails are still standing. And it’s not about Los Angeles—it’s about precedent. Because if he can override the authority of a governor in the nation’s largest state, what’s to stop him from doing it again? From doing it anywhere?

The National Guard exists, in part, to help during crisis. Not to be hijacked for campaign optics. And certainly not to be used like private security to intimidate U.S. citizens expressing their First Amendment rights.

But Trump doesn’t care about any of that. He’s not interested in governance. He’s interested in dominance. In control. In seeing how close he can get to the line without anyone pushing back.

Well here’s the pushback: this is not your army, Mr. President. This is not your state. And we are not your subjects. If you wanted to lead California, you should have run for governor. Until then, stay out of our streets—and keep your soldiers with you in Washington.