Gov. Newsom_ Trump chose theatrics over public safety

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's happening right now is very different than anything we've
seen before. On Saturday morning, when federal agents jumped out
of an unmarked van near a home depot parking lot,
they began grabbing people, a deliberate targeting of a heavily
Latino suburb. A similar theme played out when a clothing
company was raided downtown. In other actions, a US citizen

(00:23):
nine months pregnant was arrested, a four year old girl taken, families, separated,
friends quite literally disappearing. In response, every day, Angelino's came
out to exercise their constitutional right to free speech and
assembly to protest their government's actions. In turn, the state

(00:45):
of California and the City and County of Los Angeles
sent our police officers to help keep the peace, and
with some exceptions, they were successful. Like many states, California
is no stranger to this sort of unrest. We manage
it regularly and with our own law enforcement. But this
again was different. What then ensued was the use of

(01:08):
tear gas, flash bang grenades, rubber bullets, Federal agents detaining
people in undermining their due process rights. Donald Trump, without
consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered two thousand of our
state's National Guard members to deploy on our streets illegally

(01:29):
and for no reason. This brazen abuse of power by
a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people,
our officers, and even our National Guard at risk. That's
when the downward spiral began. He doubled down on his
dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder,

(01:50):
and the president he did it on purpose. As the
news spread throughout La, anxiety for family and friends ramped up.
Protests started again. By night, several dozen lawbreakers became violent
and destructive. They vandalized property, they tried to assault police officers.
Many of you have seen the video clips of cars

(02:12):
burning on cable news. If you incite violence, I want
to be clear about this, if you incite violence or
destroy our communities, you're going to be held to account.
That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated full stop. Already,
more than two hundred and twenty people have been arrested,
and we're reviewing tapes to build additional cases, and people
will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Again,

(02:36):
thanks to our law enforcement officers. And the majority of
Angelinos who protested peacefully. The situation was winding down and
was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown. With that,
that's not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation,
He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety.

(02:59):
He federalized another two thousand Guard members. He deployed more
than seven hundred active US Marines. These are the men
and women trained for foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement.
We honor their service, we honor their bravery, but we
do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces.

(03:20):
Not in La not in California, not anywhere. We're seeing
unmarked cars, unmarked cars in school parking, lots kids afraid
of attending their own graduation. Trump is pulling a military
dragnet all across Los Angeles. Well beyond is stated intent
to just go after violent and serious criminals, his agents

(03:44):
are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers, and seamstresses. That's just weakness,
weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump's government isn't protecting our communities.
They're traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the
entire point. California will keep fighting. We'll keep fighting on

(04:05):
behalf of our people, all of our people, including in
the courts. Just yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to
Donald Trump's reckless deployment of American troops to a major
American city. Today, we sought an emergency court order to
stop the use of the American military to engage in
law enforcement activities across Los Angeles. If some of us

(04:27):
could be snatched off the streets without a warrant based
only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us
are safe. Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are
least able to defend themselves, but they do not stop there.
Trump and a loyalists. They thrive on division because it
allows them to take more power and exert even more control.

(04:51):
And by the way, Trump, he's not opposed to lawlessness
and violence as long as it serves him. What more
evidence do we need than January sixth, ask everyone take
time reflect on this perilous moment. A president who wants
to be bound by no law or constitution perpetuating a

(05:13):
unified assault on American traditions. This is a president who,
in just over one hundred and forty days, has fired
government watchdogs that could hold him accountable, accountable for corruption
and fraud. He's declared a war, a war on culture,
on history, on science, on knowledge itself. Databases quite literally

(05:34):
are vanishing. He's delegitimizing news organizations, and he's assaulting the
First Amendment and the threat of defunding them at threat.
He's dictating what universities themselves can teach. He's targeting law
firms and the judicial brands that are the foundations of
an orderly in civil society. He's calling for a sitting

(05:55):
governor to be arrested for no other reason than to,
in his own words, for getting elected. And we all
know this Saturday, he's ordering our American heroes, the United
States military and forcing them to put on a vulgar
display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators

(06:16):
have done in the past. Look, this isn't just about
protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket
authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order
apply to every state in this nation. This is about
all of us. This is about you. California may be first,
but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.

(06:38):
Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes.
This moment we have feared has arrived. He's taking a
wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our founding father's historic project,
three coequal branches of independent government. They're no longer any
checks and balances. Congress is no where to be found.

(07:01):
Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility. The role of
law has increasingly been given way to the rule of
don The founding fathers they didn't lived and died to
see this kind of moment. It's time for all of
us to stand up. Justice brandeis you said it best.
In a democracy, the most important office, with all due respect,

(07:23):
mister President, is not the presidency, and it's certainly not governor.
The most important office is office of citizen. At this moment,
at this moment, we all need to stand up and
be held to account a higher level of accountability. If
you exercise your First Amendment rights, please please do it peacefully.
I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress

(07:47):
and fear, but I want you to know that you
are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What
Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to
be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.
We thank you for watching, and remember stay updated on
breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app,

(08:08):
or watch live on our YouTube channel