House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is hammering President Trump over the clashes in Los Angeles, saying the president is purposefully escalating tensions to distract the country from a volatile economy.
Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, Jeffries railed against Trump’s aggressive deportation policies and defended the rights of Americans to protest such government actions — if it’s done peacefully.
He accused Trump of “fanning flames and inciting things on the ground” to distract from a domestic policy agenda that Jeffries has dubbed “a failure.”
“Donald Trump is clearly trying to distract from the fact that he has a failed administration,” Jeffries said.
The Democratic leader also dismissed Trump’s argument that, by intervening in the L.A. immigration protests, he’s simply bringing law and order to a city where local officials have failed to do so.
Jeffries noted that Trump, for hours, had declined to intervene on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters attacked law enforcers at the U.S. Capitol in an effort to block the certification of Trump’s election defeat a few months earlier. In January, Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 of the rioters — a move that, according to Jeffries, gives Trump and his supporters “zero credibility” to claim the mantle of law and order.
“Donald Trump wasn’t a leader on Jan. 6. He didn’t send the National Guard to stop the violent mob that was brutally beating police officers in plain view for every single American to see,” Jeffries said. “And this guy, who likely withheld the National Guard — he certainly didn’t send them forward — is lecturing the country about law and order?”
“Give me a break. We’re not feeling you — particularly as it relates to this issue,” he continued. “Donald Trump and all of these minions who support him — the sycophants, the extremists — have zero credibility on this issue. Republicans have become the party of lawlessness and disorder.”
Amid the unrest in L.A., Trump over the weekend activated members of the National Guard, drawing criticisms from California officials — notably Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) — who said local law enforcement agencies are sufficiently equipped to handle the situation without the involvement of federal troops. Newsom announced Monday that he is suing the administration over the federal intervention.
“This is a manufactured crisis,” Newsom posted on X. “He is creating fear and terror to take over a state militia and violate the U.S. constitution.”
Jeffries is standing squarely behind Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D), a former member of the House, who have both argued that local and state law enforcers in California have the faculties and manpower to protect both First Amendment rights and public safety.
“The LAPD, the L.A. Sheriff’s Department, other local law enforcement, and the California Highway Patrol, seem to have the capacity to make sure that the situation is addressed — that peaceful protests are allowed to occur, and that law-breakers are held accountable,” Jeffries said.
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