California Governor Gavin Newsom has formally requested Trump administration officials to rescind the order to deploy the National Guard and return control of the force to California, calling the initial order unlawful and “intentionally designed to inflame the situation.”
“I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,” Newsom wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”
This is an example of somebody in a position of power fighting back. He may be a shitbag in general, but he is fighting back.
Fighting back would have been ordering them to withdraw using his lawful authority, and if they refused, ordering their arrest. This is just fucking around.
I’m torn.
On the one hand, CA has no military, so attempting diplomacy and formal protocol is logical, even responsible. By “responsible,” I simply mean that picking a fight you know you can’t win, and doing so on behalf of the people you represent, is usually irresponsible, since they will be the ones who suffer.
On the other hand, the closest thing to diplomacy Trump understands is some combination of posturing and quid pro quo. Historically, formal correspondence of rival leaders tends to have a varnish of politeness like this, even in the midst of bloody wars. (Indeed this “formal request” does convey a demand, an accusation, and a veiled threat.) But is someone with a demonstrably facile notion of power capable of understanding such subtext, or will they see only weakness?
Most importantly, I think there comes a time to commit to the inevitable conclusion. If you know the authoritarian will continue to threaten brutality against your people to ensure their compliance, it becomes your duty to say “do your worst or pound sand,” since you know compliance only delays and worsens their suffering, and a threat to the will of a people is always greater.
We do, it’s just small. And shares membership with the national guard.
https://calguard.ca.gov/csg/
Same but even smaller.
“With a strongly-worded letter, no less!”
Is an insane thing for the Governor to claim when ICE was snatching random people off the street.
Paramount had a huge problem when ICE just started grabbing people out of the front of a Home Depot for being brown. That triggered the public backlash which got the news coverage which lead to Trump trying to launch a Fallujah style invasion of LA.
The situation was fully fucked by lawless ICE officially kidnapping people well before Trump tried to ratchet tensions further.
You’re conflating two different problems. Yes, ICE kidnapping people was a problem before the national guard thing, but Newsom’s words were specifically about a problem with the protests.
I dont interpret that as conflation, more pointing out, why doesn’t Newsom consider ICE kidnappings a problem?? He’s only concerned about the unrest just like he pretends to be addressing homelessness by criminalization
"Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel.
Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy."
Newsom condemning ICE raids
Thank you, yes he said that.
I’m saying that “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.” is a WTF level statement. Newsom will happily let ICE empty out people from homes as long as it is done politely.
Because that’s not what this conversation is about. It was specifically about trump nationalizing the guard. There are other statements of him condemning ICE, it just wasn’t in this particular sentence, because it wasn’t the topic at hand.
Newsom “condemns” ICE the way Republicans condemn the deficit. I.e., not in any way that matters. And now events are forcing him to pretend to care.
You’re moving the goal posts. This one comment that were a discussing has nothing to do with ICE, and everything to do with the national guard deployment.
You can not like the man, and many of us don’t, but it’s stupid to criticize him in the now for making moves in the right direction, albeit small moves. The enemy of my enemy and all that, and Newsom in the grand scheme of enemies, is far from the worst to ally with.
This conversation was about me saying no that is not conflation, and agreeing with the intent of the person you replied to. It’s not any bigger than that.
The intent of the person you replied to being, WTF is “we didn’t have a problem”?? Yes, everyone please clap for Newsom, he called ICE cruel! He sure told Trump off! I’ll criticise Newsom all day long and you can call me stupid and complain about where I’m putting my goalposts.