Trump's Vision for Los Angeles: A Pacific 'Fallujah' Ideology

On Sunday, President Donald Trump audaciously disregarded California Governor Gavin Newsom by dispatching the National Guard to counter demonstrators in Los Angeles protesting against the administration’s immigration enforcement. This unprecedented action marked the first instance since 1965 that a president directed a state's National Guard without the governor’s consent, reminiscent of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s deployment in Alabama to safeguard civil rights advocates. Pulitzer Prize winner and LA resident Viet Thanh Nguyen participated in a town hall discussion with Mehdi for paid subscribers, addressing audience inquiries. Nguyen, a refugee himself, articulated how Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric underpins this extreme measure. He remarked, "The Trump administration has fostered a narrative that we're locked in a cultural war… portraying this as an invasion enables the administration to impose its will.” Furthermore, he criticized Trump’s troop increase, signaling an attempt to transform Los Angeles into a spectacle reminiscent of Fallujah. Nguyen highlighted that violence originates from the militarized police presence at these protests.