If It Happened There: Donald Trump sends central troops to quell protests in opposition-ruled California | World News

Protesters confront police on the 101 Freeway near the Metropolitan Detention Center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Note: The following piece is inspired by Joshua Keating’s If It Happened There which uses tropes and tones normally used by American media to describe events in other countries. The facts presented deal with as much exactitude and accuracy as an American media outlets’ reporting about a foreign country.Los Angeles, Mexican for the city of angels, is home to Hollywood – America’s answer to Bollywood – and a city where starstruck aspirants come with the dream of being immortalised on the silver screen. Yet, the city, which falls under America-administered California, an opposition state which overwhelmingly voted for Mr Donald Trump’s rival from the Democratic Party, Ms Kamala Harris, soon came to resemble a warzone.Mr Trump – known for strongman-like tendencies like Mr Putin and Mr Jinping – sent in over 2,000 National Guard troops, dressed like Stormtroopers, to quell a popular uprising sparked by workplace raids on labourers who Mr Trump’s officials claim are “illegals” working in America without papers. It was, as one expert put it, a prime example of authoritarian overreach that has become a feature of American autocracy since Mr Trump’s white nationalist Republican Party came to power in the last election.The flashpoint began in LA’s Fashion District, where federal immigration agents—known locally as ICE—raided a garment factory, with similar operations in numerous surrounding areas.The raid at a Home Depot – a retail franchise with numerous outlets across the country – saw violent clashes between protesters, including unionists and local residents. Among the arrested was Mr David Huerta, a unionist, who eyewitnesses say was zip-tied and dragged away near the Metropolitan Detention Centre – which has overnight come to resemble a heavily guarded fortress.The situation grew increasingly volatile, coming to resemble a modern-day version of A Song of Ice and Fire – a popular series of books – which inspired the incest-drama Game of Thrones.Driverless Waymo cars – a company owned by Google, often accused of monopolising the internet to further America’s imperial power – were set ablaze in a powerful demonstration of the working-class revolution against Silicon Valley’s technocratic regime.While California’s duly elected leaders – progressive Democrat Governor Mr Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Ms Karen Bass – objected, 2,000 National Guard troops hit hotspots near downtown Los Angeles.Local protest organisers – many embedded with immigrant rights groups – were illegally dragged away. Teenagers and older women with placards were violently attacked as federal officials justified the harsh measures, claiming they were “suspected participants.”

A Distraction?

Some commentators even wondered if Mr Trump’s heavy-handed action might be a ruse to distract from his recent feud with Mr Elon Musk, a technocrat and the world’s richest man who funded Mr Trump’s return to the White House with both his personal wealth and by buying the social media platform named X – formerly known as Twitter – to help spread canards that could return Mr Trump to the White House.Mr Trump, also a former avid user of Twitter who was banned from the platform earlier and opened his own rival Truth Social, had a spat with Mr Musk over a finance bill that the American President likes to call the “Big Beautiful Bill,” and which Mr Musk called fiscal suicide. The fallout included a physical altercation with Mr Trump’s tariff honcho, Mr Scott Bessent, whose attempt at a parliamentary rebuttal ostensibly left Mr Musk with a black eye.Mr Musk – known for using powerful drugs like ketamine – retaliated by calling Mr Trump some unprintable names and even claiming that the American President’s name was present in the Epstein Files. The Epstein Files, incidentally, refer to a litany of famous celebrities – from both sides of the political aisle, including Republicans and Democrats – who visited Mr Epstein’s island where they allegedly participated in peccadilloes involving underage individuals without their consent.

Protesters take cover behind chairs near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Mr Musk – who until recently ran a government department that looked at cutting fiscal waste – is the first member of Mr Trump’s new team to have a public falling out. Unlike the last administration, where many members including the then Vice President Mr Mike Pence stood up to Mr Trump, the new cabinet is full of individuals whose first claim to fame is complete fealty to Mr Trump. This includes Ms Kristi Noem, the head of Homeland Security, Ms Linda McMahon, the Secretary of Education, former Fox News host Mr Pete Hegseth who is now the Secretary of Defence, and the current Vice President, Mr JD Vance, who once called Mr Trump “cultural heroin” and compared him to Adolf Hitler.In his second term, Mr Trump has eschewed any pretence of adhering to the US Constitution, whether its quelling dissent in institutes ofhigher education, illegally deporting American citizens, or accepting expensive gifts from foreign nations.Mr Trump’s actions might not just affect residents of America-administered California or even just Americans, given the country’s overstated power over the rest of the world. The new regime under Mr Trump has taken sweeping decisions to target its own population, deport legal citizens, silence dissent, and punish anyone perceived to be disloyal, while the courts – once heralded as the guardians of the Constitution – mutely watch on. Questions must be raised as to whether a country like the United States of America is a fit choice for global events, like the next football World Cup – set to be held in 2026 – when it can’t even adhere to the basic norms that citizens of democracies take for granted.