Trump has deployed a total number of 4,000 National Guard members and has mobilised 700 US marines, triggering a row with state politicians.
The National Guard acts as a hybrid entity that serves both state and federal interests. Typically, a state’s force is activated at the request of the governor.
Trump circumvented that step by invoking a rarely-used federal law, arguing that the protests constituted “a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States”.
This is reportedly the first time the National Guard has been activated without request of the state’s governor since 1965.
The move has been condemned by California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, who said it would inflame matters – and that local police could handle the situation.
Amid an escalating war of words on Tuesday, Trump likened protesters in LA to animals, and urged an audience to boo Newsom. The California governor accused his political opponent of attacking democracy.
A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted in early June, before the protests kicked off, found 54% of Americans saying they approved of Trump’s deportation policy, and 50% approved of how he was handling immigration.
That compares with smaller numbers of 42% who gave approval to his economic policy and 39% for his policy on tackling inflation.
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