Leading Democrats are downplaying concerns over potential political fallout to forcefully challenge President Trump’s intervention in Los Angeles protests over his administration’s immigration raids.
California’s powerful Democratic delegation hammered the president Tuesday, portraying him as an autocrat who’s hell-bent on undermining America’s foundational role as a country of immigrants.
Leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), who staged an emergency strategy call on Sunday night, are demanding an investigation into the administration’s forceful intervention.
And top Democratic leaders in both chambers are accusing Trump of waging a war on non-white immigrants — trampling on democratic conventions and human rights in the process.
“This isn’t about law and order or protecting public safety. Donald Trump wants conflict and violence,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters in the Capitol. “House Democrats stand on the side of peaceful protests and condemn the violence that Donald Trump is rooting for.”
The assertive strategy has plenty of risks.
While standing up to Trump is sure to inspire Democratic base voters furious with the president and unhappy with their own party’s resistance so far, some of the clashes in Los Angeles have been violent.
Incendiary images coming out of L.A. — including burning cars and protestors waving Mexican flags — are likely to alienate more moderate voters in purple battleground regions where Democrats in both chambers need gains next year to win back power in Congress.
Those images, some Democrats warn, are playing right into the hands of Trump.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who frequently clashes with fellow Democrats, said L.A. has descended into “anarchy” and chided his party for not pushing back against the violent incidents more forcefully.
“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration — but this is not that. This is anarchy and true chaos,” he posted Tuesday on X. “My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.”
The fact that the current conflict is happening in deep blue California — a perennial target of conservatives — is only exacerbating such concerns.
While most in the party have given Gov. Gavin Newsom high marks for his handling of the crisis and his battle with Trump, there is also a lingering queasiness.
“This is a fight Republicans want right now. Republicans are trying to lean into this blue-states-versus-Trump dynamic,” said one top Democratic strategist. “And Democrats want a fight, we want a fight we can win. But this is a difficult fight to win because there’s so much we can’t control. There are so many variables here and a lot of it is completely out of our hands.”
Other Democrats are sounding similar warnings, and say they expect Trump to play up the most explosive images stemming from the protests, even if they represent a small fraction of the demonstrations at large.
“This is about provocation,” said Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.). “It was Donald Trump who sent in the military to a peaceful protest. Donald Trump sent in the military to basically stir things up and give him the image and give him the fight and give him the pictures that he wants.”
The clash began on Friday, when a series of federal immigration raids sparked a small protest near downtown Los Angeles. The next day, more protesters appeared in Paramount, Calif., in response to concerns that federal agents were planning to target day laborers outside a Home Depot there. Some of the protestors clashed with the law enforcers.
Trump responded on Saturday evening by activating 2,000 National Guard troops without the consent of Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who warned that the arrival of military forces would only escalate tensions. On Monday, Trump escalated the response further, dispatching hundreds of Marines to the city.
The episode has posed a dilemma for Democratic leaders, highlighting the careful balancing act they’re attempting by supporting the first amendment rights of those protesting Trump’s controversial immigration policies, while taking pains to distance themselves from any violent actors.
“Peacefully protesting is an American right, it’s part of the rich tradition of our country,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (Calif.), vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus. “Burning cars, looting and destroying property are crimes and anyone who takes advantage of this situation and engages in those crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Yet many Democrats are voicing concerns that that simple distinction will get lost in the debate, particularly with Trump and conservative media outlets focusing almost exclusively on violent confrontations.
“We strongly condemn the agitators who are committing acts of violence,” said Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.). “Their behavior is completely unacceptable, and they’re giving people like Stephen Miller exactly the images that they want. And that makes it even easier to then pick a fight over political retribution.”
The protests have challenged the central message coming from Democrats, who are fighting to focus the national debate on the more controversial elements of Trump’s domestic agenda, including cuts to federal health care programs, and a volatile economy made more uncertain by Trump’s on-and-off tariffs.
Former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), who once led the party’s campaign arm, urged Democrats not to lose sight of that strategy amid the L.A. crisis.
“Trump has two playbooks. One is to use immigration to frighten, enrage and motivate voters,” Israel said. “The other is ripped out of the history books on authoritarian leaders: provoke, exaggerate and escalate disorder in order to limit freedoms, in Trump’s case to distract voters from his poor economic performance.”
Israel said Democrats “can respond with a playbook of their own.”
“Don’t let him define them as weak on immigration; use his actions in LA as proof of his extremist impulses; and keep talking about how the economy continues to hurt real Americans.”
