Trump thanked California National Guard before it arrived in L.A.

Verity Stevenson · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 6:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

At 2 a.m. Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump posted to societal media congratulating the enactment of California's National Guard successful effect to migration raid protests successful Los Angeles. 

In fact, the guards lone arrived successful the metropolis aboriginal that morning, according to respective quality reports.

"Thank you to the National Guard for a occupation good done!" Trump wrote astatine 2:41 a.m. ET.

Just aft noon ET (9 a.m. PT), the U.S. Northern Command posted connected X that 300 of the California National Guard 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) soldiers were positioned adjacent national properties astatine 3 locations successful the greater Los Angeles country — acold less than the 2,000 soldiers Trump vaunted helium would deploy. 

The discrepancy has prompted reports from U.S. media outlets that Trump and his administration's claims of protestation unit person been overblown. 

MSNBC's Jen Psaki hosted a conception connected the opposition betwixt what the national authorities had been saying and what has truly happened connected the ground. 

"Trump is insisting that this monolithic escalation successful unit is wholly necessary," Psaki said, also noting that National Guard troops were lone reported to person arrived successful Los Angeles astatine 11 a.m. Sunday, much than 8 hours aft Trump's posted thanking them.

Trump deployed California's National Guard without getting consent from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, prompting the politician to aboriginal writer the national authorities for its decision. 

When did the Los Angeles protests start? 

The protests successful Los Angeles began Friday evening astatine national detention centre successful downtown Los Angeles where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had detained much than 40 radical — including children — pursuing raids crossed the city, according to ABC News. 

The Los Angeles Police Department said Friday connected X that a "small radical of convulsive individuals are throwing ample pieces of concrete" and that it was deeming the gathering "unlawful." 

Officers successful riot cogwheel were past seen throwing teardrop state canisters to disperse immoderate crowds. 

WATCH | Trump tests boundaries of his power:

Protests, arsenic good arsenic the looting of a state presumption successful Paramount, Calif., continued that time and into Saturday — erstwhile Trump decided to federalize the National Guard. 

Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth applauded the determination connected X Saturday, calling the protests a "huge nationalist information risk."

Newsom responded that national authorities assistance successful preventing unit astatine the protests was unnecessary and would lone pb to escalation. 

What happened aft the National Guard arrived?

Sunday day the situation appeared to escalate case when, according to the Los Angeles Times, officers fired teardrop state and less-lethal rounds astatine protesters extracurricular a national detention centre, wherever the guards were posted, though it's unclear whether they were the ones to workout unit oregon section instrumentality enforcement.

Later that day, protesters streamed onto a highway, blocking traffic. But the Times reported clashes soon died down. 

Sunday evening, though, Trump called protesters "violent, insurrectionist mobs," successful a station connected Truth Social. 

The Times wrote that "Trump medication officials person seized connected the isolated incidents of unit to suggest wide parts of L.A. are retired of control."

Psaki highlighted that, meanwhile, an estimated 300 radical person been detained successful Los Angeles ICE raids since protests began Friday.

Californians accidental protests person mostly been peaceful and led by radical whose household members were taken into custody by migration agents astatine their workplaces.

A retired teacher, Jose Gallegos, told USA Today helium attended protests successful Paramount connected Saturday and was struck by a rubber slug changeable successful rounds by instrumentality enforcement. 

"We don't person guns. All we person is prayers and feathers," helium told the quality outlet. 

Escalation beneficial for Trump: experts

Legal scholars and ideology watchers accidental it is politically advantageous for Trump to exaggerate the magnitude of unit tied to the migration protests due to the fact that it is 1 of the issues the president has wide enactment for. 

"I don't deliberation the imaginable of calling retired the National Guard is successful immoderate mode sincerely motivated by a fearfulness of a nonaccomplishment of nationalist order," said John Carey, a prof of authorities astatine Dartmouth College successful New Hampshire and the co-founder of Bright Line Watch, a radical monitoring threats to American democracy.

"We person a agelong and arrogant contented of subject remaining neutral and removed from politics," Carey said. "And this administration, I don't think, is committed to that."

WATCH | California to writer Trump administration:

According to Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton prof studying caller autocracies, National Guards are a benignant of extortion for states against imaginable national overreaches. 

They were created based connected the Second Amendment, guaranteeing each state's close to a militia. 

Their troops are astir equivalent successful fig to federally-operated subject units, specified arsenic the Marine Corps — 700 of which were besides deployed to L.A. — Scheppele explained.

"You don't privation it to crook into civilian warfare … but astatine slightest you'd person benignant of evenly matched sides. It would let the governors to beryllium capable to accidental nary [to national overreach], backed by a benignant of subject force," the prof said. 

At contented is whether Title 10 of the U.S. Code — the legal mechanics Trump utilized to deploy the Guard — requires the president to consult with a authorities politician earlier federalizing their troops and whether the politician tin refuse.