Donald Trump has literally begged and threatened the governor of Illinois to activate his National Guard to protect federal agents operating in his state.
Even after agents were boxed in by anti-ICE protesters, which resulted in agents having to fire defensively, Governor Pritzker has refused.
So now Trump is going to use Texas National Guard troops, which the mayor of Chicago has likened to declaring war on his city.
While Illinois officials pretend all is well, Donald Trump is considering activating the Insurrection Act, which has not been done since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
This would be a bold move, as the rioting was are seeing is surely not in that category, and I would say it is not even as bad as the Georgy Floyd riots. Having said that, the threats against these agents are only going to get worse, so I can understand his concern.
To that point, Trump stated, "If I had to enact it, I'd do that. If people were being killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I'd do that.
“I mean, I want to make sure that people aren't killed. We have to make sure that our cities are safe.”
Pritzker is claiming that Trump is exaggerating, and the problem is a very focused issue.
He stated, “Well, remember, the Insurrection Act has the name insurrection in it for a reason. It’s only something that you can effectuate if there is an insurrection, a foreign invasion, a true national emergency. That doesn’t exist here, and it doesn’t exist in Portland. It didn’t exist in Washington, D.C. or in Los Angeles. So, I realize that President Trump, who does no reading and doesn’t understand anything, uses the words Insurrection Act like he understands it.”
He later added, “Yeah, but he’s the one that’s causing that situation. That is to say, it’s ICE and CBP that have been launching grenades with tear gas, that have been pelting people with plastic or rubber bullets. They’re the ones that are creating mayhem on the ground, specifically because they want to claim that there’s some sort of emergency. There isn’t. This is occurring in a two-block area of a suburb of Chicago, Broadview.”
Okay, so if that is the issue, then why not ask for additional federal help, or activate your Guard to ensure these agents' lives are not at risk (all due to the rhetoric from the left)?
This move is being portrayed as a power grab, an invasion of an American city, an authoritarian move… basically, name your poison, and Democrats and the media are using it to go after Trump.
I am already on the record as being against forcing the activation of the National Guard, as I think we can accomplish the same effect with the overwhelming presence of federal agents. If you want the military effect, put them in camo gear.
What I really don’t like about this move is the fact that we are using National Guard troops from a red state to go into a blue state. Look at this from the reverse position… how would you feel if a blue-state governor sent his National Guard into your state? Exactly, just what I thought.
There are quite a few Republicans who are uneasy about this, but everyone running for re-election is afraid to say anything to Trump because of his ongoing threats to primary anyone who goes up against him. This is going to hurt the GOP in the big picture, and someone needs to get into Trump’s ear and make him understand that. Use all the federal officers you want, but using a different state’s Guard is a huge mistake.
