'Can't ride the tiger': Trump's standoff with states could lead to 'violent confrontation'

11 June

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

The tense demonstrations that are rocking downtown Los Angeles, California are not only a major story in the United States — they are also receiving extensive coverage in other countries, including in the United Kingdom.

Many of President Donald Trump's critics believe that he crossed a dangerous line when he federalized California National Guard troops in response to the protests and is sending in U.S. Marines as well.

In an op-ed published by The Guardian on June 9, British journalist Gaby Hinsliff argues that the chaos that has so far defined Trump's second presidency is helping to fuel a dangerous "civil conflict" that Trump himself may not be able to control.

"It was the scenario everyone feared when Donald Trump took office," Hinsliff explains. "Deportation hit squads descending on the kind of Democrat-voting communities who would feel morally bound to resist them, triggering the kind of violent confrontation that creates an excuse to send in National Guard troops — and ultimately, a showdown between federal and state power that could take U.S. democracy to the brink. Now, something like this may be unfolding in California, where the state governor, Gavin Newsom, has accused the president of trying to 'manufacture a crisis' for his own ends and warned that any protester responding with violence is only playing into his hands."

Hinsliff adds, "Suddenly, the idea that this presidency could ultimately end in civil conflict no longer seems quite so wildly overblown as it once did."

The British journalist stresses that the tensions Trump is aggravating in Los Angeles have implications that go way beyond Southern California — and even beyond the United States.

Far-right "populism," Hinsliff warns, is making the U.S. dangerously unstable" — and that instability "ought to ring some bells" on her "side of the Atlantic."

"You can’t ride the tiger," Hinsliff writes. "That’s the lesson here: once populism has grasped the levers of power, even the richest man in the world cannot be sure of exploiting it for his own ends, or imposing his own agenda on the chaos. Not when a vengeful White House still has the power to destroy even the most powerful business empire, anyway…. What the last few frightening days in the U.S. have demonstrated is that once populism has its feet firmly enough under the table, chaos wins."

The Guardian journalist continues, "There’s no ability to belatedly impose order, no house-training it either. All you can do is deny it a room in the house in the first place. In Britain, at least, it's not too late for that."

Gaby Hinsliff's full op-ed for The Guardian is available at this link.

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