'Bad for all Americans': Ex-National Guard leader slams Trump move

Retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, who previously headed up the National Guard, is tearing into President Donald Trump over his move to nationalize the Guard against protesters in California, The Daily Beast reported on Monday.

Manner, who has previously warned Trump's MAGA movement is marching toward fascism and urged the military to draft contingency plans for America's safety in the event Trump was elected, made the comments on Fox News Sunday.

“The president’s federal deployment of the National Guard over the official wishes of a governor is bad for all Americans concerned about freedom of speech and states’ rights,” said Manner. “The governor has the authority and ability to respond to the civil disturbances with law enforcement capabilities within his state, augmented as necessary by requesting law enforcement assistance from other governors."

He added: “There are over a million badged and trained members of law enforcement in this country for the governor to ask for help if he needs it. While this is presently a legal order, it tramples the governor’s rights and obligations to protect his people. This is an inappropriate use of the National Guard and is not warranted.”

The protests, which erupted near the end of last week in response to massive ICE raids in Los Angeles and quickly escalated into clashes with law enforcement, have triggered growing threats of force by Trump.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for his part, has accused the Trump administration of provoking the violence with their aggressive tactics, and further accused Trump of being a “stone-cold liar” when he said he discussed deploying the Guard with Newsom over the phone on Friday.