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As riots and immigration protests grip Los Angeles, President Donald Trump is determined not to repeat the violence of 2020.
In recent days, Trump administration officials have pointed to the riots that broke out in Minneapolis in 2020 after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, singling out Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, for slow-walking the activation of the National Guard.
Now, Trump is at odds with another Democratic governor — this time California’s Gavin Newsom — as the president moves to deploy and federalize thousands of National Guard troops along with hundreds of Marines in an effort to prevent Los Angeles from suffering the same fate as Minneapolis.
While Trump has said he is dispatching troops to prevent the destruction of Los Angeles, Newsom has accused Trump of “turning the U.S. military against American citizens.”
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But Trump and his allies have persisted with a clear message for Democrats: This is not 2020.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who previously served as governor of South Dakota, defended the Trump administration’s decision to deploy and federalize troops and override state authority, claiming Minnesota is an example of what happens when a “bad governor” is in charge.
“I was a governor of a neighboring state to Tim Walz and watched him let his city burn,” Noem told reporters Tuesday. “And the president and I have talked about this in the past, and he was not going to let that happen to another city and to another community where a bad governor made a bad decision.”
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Other administration officials expressed similar sentiments.
“This isn’t the Summer of 2020 2.0,” DHS Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar said in a statement Monday. “I thank the brave men and women of the National Guard defending federal buildings so that immigration officials can keep us safe.”
Walz was first elected governor of Minnesota in 2019, leading the state as protests broke out after the death of Floyd. While Walz has said he takes the blame for a delayed response activating the National Guard in his state, he has also said he is proud of how Minnesota reacted.
“I’m proud of Minnesota’s response; I’m proud of Minnesota’s first responders who were out there, from firefighters to police to the National Guard, to citizens that were out there,” Walz said in a 2022 gubernatorial debate.
Walz’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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The political climate is also different for Trump this time around. Whereas in 2020 Trump faced an upcoming election, he no longer has a second term on his mind, influencing his actions, according to political columnist Kristin Tate.
“Trump has learned a lot in the last five years. … Trump no longer cares about political consequences. He cannot run again. So, he’s just doing what’s right,” Tate told Fox News Digital. “He’s instilling law and order, regardless of the consequences. And that’s what should’ve been done all along. But the rioters in the Golden State are shocked to see that law and order is being implemented, and the good old days of burning down the city with impunity are over.”
Trump has also moved to exert greater authority over the National Guard than he did in 2020, bypassing Newsom’s authority. While Republicans like Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas pushed Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act in 2020 to pave the way for Trump to federalize the National Guard, Trump ultimately chose not to.
Although separate from the Insurrection Act, Trump has invoked another law to place National Guard troops under federal command this time around, prompting ire from Newsom and other Democrats.
Additionally, Newsom has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for federalizing the National Guard, labeling the move an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority,” Newsom said in a statement Monday. “This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic. Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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