Sending the California National Guard to quell Los Angeles' riots was merely a "diversion" from the Elon Musk falling out and the Senate's gridlock on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, contends Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
"His order to deploy the National Guard in California is unnecessary, inflammatory, and provocative," Schumer told The Hill on Monday. "Trump should immediately revoke his command to use the National Guard and leave the law enforcement to the governor and the mayor, who are more than capable of handling the situation.
"Americans do not need or deserve this unnecessary and provocative chaos."
But President Donald Trump said his "great decision" quelled the riots. He called Schumer's position a "lie" to the American people.
The rioters' violence forced his hand, said Trump.
"We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California," Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. "If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated."
Most pointedly, unlike Schumer, Trump said he had no confidence that California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom or the Los Angeles Democrat mayor are "capable of handling the situation."
"The very incompetent 'Governor,' Gavin Newscum, and 'Mayor,' Karen Bass, should be saying, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR,'" Trump added in his post. "Instead, they choose to lie to the people of California and America by saying that we weren't needed, and that these are 'peaceful protests.'"
Video shared in media shows protesters throwing projectiles at law enforcement and their vehicles, plus setting fires in a state long noted to be vulnerable to deadly wildfires.
"Just one look at the pictures and videos of the violence and destruction tells you all you have to know," Trump's post concluded. "We will always do what is needed to keep our citizens safe, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.