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As millions protested, a separate big Trump demonstration sent an appalling message

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As millions protested, a separate big Trump demonstration sent an appalling message
A dog carries a sign as tens of thousands of "No Kings" demonstrators fill McCall Park and both the Morrison and Hawthorne Bridges in Portland, Oregon, U.S., October 18, 2025. REUTERS/John Rudoff

The U.S. Marine Corps — under the watchful eyes of Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — staged a demonstration on Saturday in southern California.

It wasn’t a No Kings demonstration, though. It was more like a Yes Kings demonstration.

Some of the Marine Corps’ shells that were fired by M777 howitzers across California’s Interstate 5 prematurely detonated, sending shrapnel down on what could have been hundreds of motorists.

Why the hell did the Marine Corps fire artillery shells over Interstate 5 anyway?

Interstate 5 is the largest and most-traveled north-south freeway in California.

The military demonstration was part of an exercise marking the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary.

Beforehand, the military predicted that the exercise would be safe, but California Governor Gavin Newsom disagreed.

“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous,” Newsom said last week.

Newsom was so concerned about the plan that he ordered a 17-mile stretch closed of the freeway closed between Los Angeles and San Diego — which caused significant backups on that portion of the interstate, used by approximately 80,000 people daily.

Before the mishap, Vance’s office disputed Newsom’s claim that the live rounds were dangerous, saying the Marine Corp’s demonstration was “an established safe practice.”

“If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose the training exercises that ensure our Armed Forces are the deadliest and most lethal fighting force in the world, then he can go right ahead,” Vance’s communications director said in a statement. “It would come as no surprise that he would stoop so low considering his pathetic track record of failure as governor.”

After the round prematurely exploded on Saturday, the whole exercise — which was expected to include the firing of approximately 60 155-millimeter shells — was terminated.

An active-duty Marine artillery officer and a former Marine artillery noncommissioned officer who spoke to the New York Times described the exercise as “unusual.”

They said the only howitzer training they had previously observed at Camp Pendleton had taken place at approved artillery ranges on the main side of base, east of the interstate, which they said were a much safer option for training.

A highway patrol official based in the area also described it as “unusual and concerning.”

Tony Coronado, the highway patrol’s border division chief, said in a statement that “it is highly uncommon for any live-fire or explosive training activity to occur near an active freeway.”

So what’s going on here? Why did the Marine Corps decide to fire live artillery shells across California’s major interstate freeway on Saturday?

Could the decision have had anything to do with the planned No Kings demonstrations in California on Saturday — the heart of anti-Trump country — and the well-known fact that Trump hates California?

Just asking.

  • Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.
  • Robert Reich's new memoir, Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org.
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'If I could finish?' Republican gets testy after calling demonstrators anti-semites on CNN

A Republican lawmaker got into a fiery exchange with a CNN anchor, saying "if I could finish" after refusing to answer multiple questions about the government shutdown Monday.

CNN's Pamela Brown interviewed Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), asking her about the ongoing shutdown now in its 20th day and the public response to the Trump administration. Brown specifically pointed to the nearly seven million people attending "No Kings" protests across the U.S. on Saturday, asking McClain if those attendees really "hate America," as McClain and other Republican lawmakers have claimed.

"Well, look at what they're standing for. They're standing for communism. They're standing for anti-semitism. Just take a look at the rallies," McClain said.

McClain also targeted Democrats in her response.

"Republicans are the party of law and order. We don't believe in anti-semitism. Take a look at the speakers that they have at the rally. Take a look at what they're fighting for," she said. "They're fighting to defund the police, defund ICE. They're fighting not for law and order, but they're fighting for the criminals... We stand on the core principles of this great nation, which is capitalism, law and order. And the Democrats clearly don't stand for that."

Brown then asked about how Americans perceive what's happening, asking this:

"And as the shutdown drags on, Republicans and the White House say that they're laying off thousands of federal workers, and that's necessary because of the impact that the shutdown is having on federal spending. But at the same time, President Trump announced a $20 billion bailout to Argentina last week during the shutdown. That's money, of course, from U.S. taxpayers for a foreign country. So what do you say to Americans who are looking at that and saying, wait, how does that square?"

That's when McClain urged people to call their Democratic senators, blaming them and saying "tell them to stop being obstructionists and vote yes to open the government. Number one."

As Brown tried to bring her back to the question, she said, "If I could finish?"

She went on, "Number two is, as you see, the president is making deals around the world. And that's not exactly a bailout. It's more of a loan. So it's not just free money that we're giving away, which is very different than administrations in the past," McClain said, seemingly alluding to a criticism of the Biden administration.

"So if you truly are concerned about this, what I say is let's get the government open. And I implore you to call your Democratic senators and tell them, don't be held hostage by the crazy, Marxist wing of your Democratic party. Let's get back to governing. How democracy should actually work. And that's why Republicans, both in the House and the Senate, are voting yes to open the government. And Democrats are standing in the way."

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'Mad scramble' as Alina Habba ruling threatens to dismiss multiple criminal cases

New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba is in court Monday to appeal a lower-court decision that she she's in the position illegitimately as she has never been confirmed by the Senate.

Politico reported last month that there are a number of examples of U.S. attorneys who have not been confirmed, besides Habba.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard her appeal Monday morning.

National security reporter David Rohde warned that what happens in the Habba case will have a direct impact on whether Lindsey Halligan is considered a legitimate U.S. Attorney. Like Habba, Halligan has not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Allowing those appointments despite a lack of Senate confirmation concedes further congressional power to President Donald Trump, he argued.

Habba, who had been Trump's personal criminal lawyer, was appointed by him to take over the New Jersey role.

Rohde and Michigan Law School Professor Barbara McQuade noted that the outcome of the Habba hearing would have a major impact on the cases involving former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom were indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia under the direction of Halligan.

"It means that every one of those cases that has been indicted since she took office over at that office is null and void," McQuade said of Habba's cases, if she loses her position. "It's the same thing we saw in Florida when Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case against Donald Trump, finding that the special counsel had been inappropriately appointed contrary to regulations and law and the Constitution."

She said that if the person in the post is not considered valid by the court, "then every defendant is going to have their case dismissed."

"Now, it probably includes drug dealers, corrupt public officials, all kinds of cases. Now, they could appoint a new U.S. attorney there to remedy that problem and refile some of those cases. But it could mean a mad scramble for people who are working there," she noted.


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