'Not political pawns': Gavin Newsom furious over Marines L.A. deployment: 'a blatant abuse of power' – We Got This Covered
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U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Super Bowl LIX Pregame at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation) / California Governor Gavin Newsom attends the 15th Annual California Hall of Fame induction ceremony at The California Museum on December 13, 2022 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Photos by Tim Mosenfelder/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

‘Not political pawns’: Gavin Newsom furious over Marines L.A. deployment: ‘a blatant abuse of power’

"This is a red line — and they’re crossing it. WAKE UP!"

The United States Marine Corps is an expeditionary force primarily designed for combat, so it’s a dark day for the nation when they’re deployed by Donald Trump against ordinary Americans. Marines being deployed on U.S. soil isn’t unheard of, but in recent history they’re generally tasked with disaster relief in the wake of natural disasters.

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That means Trump mobilizing 700 marines onto the streets of Los Angeles to battle civilians is yet more proof that America is in deep trouble. Even the LAPD has sounded a note of extreme caution over the arrival of the Marines, saying that they’re not coordinated with police movements and so represent a “significant logistical and operational challenge”.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is horrified at Washington effectively declaring war on California with a military incursion. Taking to X, he praised the Marines as serving a “valuable purpose” to the country but underlined that “they are not political pawns.”

Newsom argues that: “The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend. It’s a blatant abuse of power. We will sue to stop this. The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling. This is a red line — and they’re crossing it. WAKE UP!”

Provoke and violently respond

It’s fairly clear what Trump is trying to do, and Newsom called it out in a statement. The ICE raids that snatched away people’s friends, family, and co-workers were intentionally aggressive and violent, designed to inflame existing tensions against ICE. They knew protests would erupt and, as Newsom explained, the aim was to intentionally cause chaos on the streets.

A few agent provocateurs in the crowd, a bit of property damage, and Trump has his justification to send in the military to stamp out the disobedience. Other states will be nervously watching as California becomes an explicit warning of what’ll happen to any state that dares to stand against the Trump regime.

Many on social media say these events sound like the beginning of a second civil war. Ordinarily, talk like that is overly dramatic, but with Trump unleashing the Marines on the residents of Los Angeles, who knows?


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David James
I'm a writer/editor who's been at the site since 2015. Love writing about video games and will crawl over broken glass to write about anything related to Hideo Kojima. But am happy to write about anything and everything, so long as it's interesting!