Trump Calls in the Marines for California's Protests
Peter Zeihan
6 min
Trump is deliberately instigating an issue in California to weaken its powerful economy. Putting the military in a position for law enforcement creates an awkward and potentially ugly situation for everybody.
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Donald Trump
Chapters
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0:00
The Trigger
Immigration enforcement raids on day laborers sparked protests, leading Trump to deploy National Guard and Marines despite local objections.
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0:48
Legal Authority
Trump has the legal right to enforce immigration laws, though declaring a state of emergency faces mixed but likely favorable court outcomes.
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2:59
Political Instigation
The low protest numbers suggest Trump is deliberately instigating an issue to weaken California's powerful economy. Deploying minimally trained Marines for law enforcement creates dangerous volatility, as the military is designed to kill people.
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5:31
Bureaucratic Void
Trump's gutting of the federal bureaucracy means few advisors remain to warn him against this dangerous strategy.
Key points
- 0:00
Immigration enforcement raids on day laborers triggered protests and subsequent military deployment.
- 0:48
Trump has the legal right to send forces to root out illegal communities.
- 0:48
The administration investigates individuals to determine if they are actually breaking a law.
- 0:48
Arresting hundreds of thousands takes time, so raids target known congregations of illegal immigrants.
- 1:53
Courts generally give wide latitude to administrations on federal law enforcement issues.
- 1:53
Congress currently lacks the appetite to challenge the president on this issue.
- 2:59
The protest movement is surprisingly small for California standards despite being high on self-righteousness.
- 2:59
The military is designed to kill people and is not trained for civic control or law enforcement.
- 2:59
Marines are being deployed with minimal training and a lot of testosterone into a volatile environment.
- 5:31
Most advisors who would warn Trump this is a bad idea have already been fired.
Who and where
People · 1
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Donald Trump 11
President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)
Photo 1
1. Photo: Daniel Torok, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikidata · redrawn in our house style (Donald Trump)
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