Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday went after President Trump over the deployment of 2,000 National Guardsmen to the Los Angeles area, saying the president “thinks he has a right to do anything.”
“He does not believe in the Constitution; he does not believe in the rule of law,” Sanders told CNN’s Dana Bash of Trump on “State of the Union.”
“My understanding is that the governor of California, the mayor of the city of Los Angeles, did not request the National Guard, but he thinks he has a right to do anything he wants,” he added.
Trump deployed 2,000 National Guardsmen to the Los Angeles area on Saturday amid protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said previously the action was due to “violent mobs” recently attacking “Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations.”
“These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” Leavitt said.
The president blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Karen Bass (D) for the unrest that started due to ICE raids.
Newsom has called the federal response “inflammatory” and said the deployment of soldiers “will erode public trust.”
Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) also said Sunday that the deployment of the National Guard to the Los Angeles area is “going to escalate the situation.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
