MAGA feasts on red meat as Trump escalates L.A. showdown

President Trump's MAGA allies are framing the Los Angeles protests as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rewrite the rules of engagement with "the Resistance" — starting with the use of military force.Why it matters: As National Guardsmen and Marines descend on L.A., the loudest voices in the MAGA media ecosystem are urging Trump to make an example out of anyone who stands in the way of mass deportations.With protests spreading to other cities, the list of demands is growing: Deploy the military. Arrest Democrats. Expel not just undocumented immigrants, but even legal residents who oppose the crackdown.For Trump, who said Monday that California Gov. Gavin Newsom should be arrested, the vocal support of the GOP base will only fuel his maximalist instincts.Driving the news: MAGA activists were calling as early as Friday for Trump to deploy active-duty military personnel to L.A., where federal immigration officers were encountering resistance to their deportation raids.Now, many are clamoring for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to authorize the troops to participate in law enforcement activities and immigration raids — a step he hasn't yet taken."The only way to win here is to double and triple down. The media and left-wing apparatus and Deep State that run this country want us to blink, want us to back down," Steve Bannon said on his "War Room" podcast.Zoom in: MAGA views itself as fighting for nothing short of the survival of Western civilization, and images of protesters waving Mexican and Palestinian flags have exacerbated fears that the right is losing its country.Pro-Trump activists Charlie Kirk, Jack Posobiec and Matt Walsh all called, in unison, for a ban on "third world immigration, legal or illegal" — pointing to images from LA as evidence of civilizational decay.Other prominent MAGA accounts have called for shooting looters and deporting immigrant members of Congress who have criticized the administration's protest response.The intrigue: MAGA's army of online sleuths is working diligently to identify violent protesters in videos and flag them to the FBI, whose top two leaders hail from the same ecosystem of pro-Trump activism.What they're saying: "Almost exactly ten years ago to now, everything that we've been fighting for — every single battle — has all led to this," Posobiec said on his show Tuesday, recalling the moment Trump announced his presidential campaign in June 2015."We have come too far and been through too much," Posobiec continued as he urged Americans to support their local ICE raids."I don't care if it's Newsom, Pelosi, Harris, any of them: You know what, you might be on the next plane too."The bottom line: The "America First" movement may be hesitant to exercise force abroad — but at home, few things are beyond the pale when it comes to MAGA's perceived enemies.

Comments

World news

Several killed as separatists clash with Malian army, Russian allies in the conflict-hit north

ABC News

Comments

Similar News

MAGA warns Trump of "massive schism" over Israeli strikes on Iran

Democrat John Fetterman spotted dining with Trump strategist Bannon at MAGA hotspot ...on the senator’s wedding anniversary

The MAGA assimilation test: Why Rubio passed and Graham failed

Why the MAGA Right Became Obsessed With the Romanian Election

Desperate Trump’s LA intervention is the easiest way he could win back Maga

MAGA's blue-collar base waits patiently for populist payoff

Who gets the cybertruck? Both MAGA World and liberals have turned on Musk’s Tesla as Trump divorce turns friends to foe

MAGA's mutually assured destruction

Dan Bongino draws ‘clear’ conclusion on Jeffrey Epstein jail cell death after FBI probe and MAGA theories

Trump reveals his pet name for Kid Rock as he congratulates him on his ‘MAGA’ restaurant

Trump silent on Ukraine drone attacks as MAGA blames "Deep State"

Pro-MAGA reporter fired after questioning why Pete Hegseth hides from the media

Poland’s election reflects strength of MAGA-style populism across Europe

MAGA's world tour exports Trumpism beyond U.S. borders

MAGA's AI juggling act

As Trump pardons fraudsters, MAGA grasps at straws with Biden’s ‘autopen’

Jen Psaki mocks Joe Rogan over MAGA white nationalist conspiracy theory and throws strays at new FBI leadership

RFK Jr wants to ban government scientists from publishing in top journals and instead create a MAGA-backed publication

Trump pardons criminals with MAGA credentials or big money

Trump is stretching his pardon power – to the delight of his Maga acolytes

World news

Several killed as separatists clash with Malian army, Russian allies in the conflict-hit north

2 women marry in Mexico's embassy in Guatemala fueling a debate over same-sex marriage

Black bear killed after attacking woman in Maple Ridge backyard

School killings leave stunned Austria and France searching for answers

Aukus: Could Trump sink Australia's submarine plans?

Hiding in the fields - farm workers fearing deportation stay in California's shadows

The sound of jet engines was deafening - then it was chaos

In one underground bomb shelter, Israelis huddle, and wait.

A Miscalculation by Iran Led to Israeli Strikes’ Extensive Toll, Officials Say

Life peer says his dying mother got a ‘black service, not an NHS service’

NHS pays tribute to 'warm, smiling' doctor and family who perished in Air India crash

Expert details Air India pilot's chillingly simple mistake which 'led to horror crash'

Financial aid delays continue for wildfire evacuees in Saskatchewan

Alberta to begin charging residents a fee to get the COVID-19 vaccine

‘An epic kind of proposal’: B.C. man pops the question from Galapagos seafloor

Iranians Describe Israel’s Attacks in Voice Memos and Calls

Nigerian leader's pardon of executed Ogoni activists draws criticisms

Tim Walz says China now has 'moral authority' to broker Middle East peace

Iranian missiles penetrated Israel's air defenses Friday. How ironclad is the system?

This common nut can lower your risk of heart disease, dementia and diabetes

City staffer arrested after ‘impersonating a council member online’ to compliment officials he’d argued with

Ye makes surprise appearance at Diddy’s sex trafficking trial as judge weighs removing juror

Timeline of Iran's nuclear program and disarmament negotiations

Musk’s US government contracts under review after Trump spat

Calgary police ask for public help identifying CTrain sex assault suspect

Sellers ‘aren’t budging’ as inventory builds up in tariff-saddled B.C. real estate market

Broken glass, shattered dreams: No money for Sunshine Coast neighbourhood homeowners

Danielle Smith pitches B.C. on pipeline project, saying it benefits ‘all Canadians’

Trump clears U.S. Steel-Nippon deal, terms still up in the air

Ekin-Su Culculoglu hit with backlash as she yelps on plane after Air India 171 tragedy

Camp Molly provides female, non-binary youth with hands-on experience in firefighting

Owner of iconic La Ronge business grapples with wildfire decimation

More overdose alerts issued for Regina and Saskatoon

There Are No Perfect Choices in the New York Mayoral Race

British tourists in Venice, Barcelona, Majorca and Lisbon this Sunday issued warning

Airbnb fires back as it blames 1 thing in furious tourism overcrowding row

Americans say Trump ‘has gone too far’ with immigrant roundups and sending Marines and National Guard to LA

ICE preparing $45bn expansion of immigration detention facilities to meet arrest quota

Trump’s plans to be a ‘peace’ president appear to have gone up in flames

NY appeals court rejects bid to overturn Trump’s convictions in E. Jean Carroll case

Today Los Angeles, tomorrow Chicago? Tom Homan reveals how Trump wants to use National Guard more broadly

Teens accused of killing a homeless man in a tent after he asked them to stop shooting in a nearby creek

And the Emmy goes to ... Phillies star Trea Turner? Documentary on Turner's ovation wins Emmy Award

Friends of Idaho victims who were first in the house break their silence about arriving at murder scene

‘We will show no mercy’: Iran accuses Israel of igniting conflict many fear will engulf region

Delivery services under legal scrutiny for alleged 'drip pricing'

Iran’s Military Just Lost Its ‘Brain Trust’

How the Israel-Iran War Might End

How Iran’s response to Israel’s strikes could escalate further

King’s Birthday Honours list 2025 in full – as Beckham made a knight

The Israel-Iran war hinges on three big things

A court ordered Trump’s team to free an activist. They refused.

King Charles requests Trooping the Colour changes in tribute to Air India crash victims

Jamie Laing's moving tribute as This Morning star pal dies on Air India flight

Chilling final sighting of Brit revealed before he vanished from Brazil Airbnb

Surrey police launch counter-extortion team amid growing fears

Amid fan concern, Justin Bieber shares sweet photos of time with his son