'Despot' Trump’s 'law and order' claims are tainted by absolute 'insincerity': analysis

President Donald Trump is vigorously defending his use of U.S. Marines and federalized California National Guard troops in response to tense protests in Downtown Los Angeles. And he is doing so despite the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, both of whom believe he is making a tense situation worse. Many Trump critics are saying that while Newsom has every right to deploy California National Guard troops if he decides it is necessary, the president is crossing a dangerous line by deploying them at the federal level.

On Sunday, June 8, Trump told reporters, "If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, we’ll be very, very strong in terms of law and order. It's about law and order."

But journalist Will Saletan, in an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on June 11, lays out some reasons why Trump is far from a symbol of "law and order."

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"Don't believe it," Saletan warns. "Trump is using the Guard and the military to enforce his will, not the law. The evidence of his insincerity is what he did four years ago: When rioters were on his side, he didn’t call in the Guard. He embraced the criminals, pardoned them, and purged the law enforcement officials who prosecuted them."

Saletan continues, "He's a despot and a scofflaw. In the Los Angeles uprising, Trump — like every authoritarian before him — claims to be saving his country from chaos. 'Violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents,' he declared on Sunday afternoon. 'These lawless riots only strengthen our resolve.'"

In 2024, Trump was facing four criminal indictments, one of which — Manhattan District Attorney Alvil Bragg Jr.'s hush money/falsified business records case — found him being convicted on 34 felony counts. The three other cases, however, never went to trial.

"Insurrectionist mobs, lawless riots, videos of violence — we've heard such alarming descriptions before," Saletan argues. "And on January 6, 2021, we saw how little Trump cared about them…. In short, everything Trump decries in Los Angeles happened on January 6th, and more. A violent, insurrectionist mob swarmed and attacked police. And instead of bringing in the Guard 'RIGHT NOW,' Trump watched the assault, encouraged the mob, and waited to see whether it would keep him in power."

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Saletan adds, "In fact, when he returned to office this year, Trump pardoned nearly everyone who had pleaded guilty to or had been convicted of assaulting police on January 6th."

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Will Saletan's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.