DEPLOYING THE NATIONAL GUARD IN CITIES
Pres. Trump has deployed and wants to deploy more National Guard forces to US cities. His reasons? He wants the forces to assist in the anti-immigration crackdown, fight crime and homelessness, and deal with protests, mostly over ICE raids. The troops are now occupying Washington, D.C., they are mostly withdrawn from Los Angeles, and Trump is now threatening to unleash them on Chicago and Baltimore.
There is no crisis requiring federal troops in the cities, and the troops have not been requested by local authorities. The cities vote Democratic: Trump wants to crush them and is not afraid of losing their votes. Anti-urban, anti-immigrant and anti-minority sentiment is widespread in his coalition, and his current moves in the cities will be popular with his base. Again, as with tariffs, we have vendetta politics, which disregards justice and the rule of law. And this is dangerous because you are asking the military to take one side in a domestic partisan political battle.
Sources: The New York Times, 8/17/25; The Guardian, 8/24/25; The Washington Post, 8/24/25