Protesters and California's Democratic leaders are giving President Donald Trump exactly what he wants as demonstrations rage in Los Angeles against an immigration crackdown, according to MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire.
The president has ordered 700 active-duty U.S. Marines and 2,000 more National Guard troops into Los Angeles to assist local law enforcement on a fourth day of protests against immigration arrests. The "Morning Joe" co-host said the optics of the demonstrations have bolstered Trump's case on the issue.
"The mayor, the governor, the police commissioner have all said that, 'We've got this under control, that the number of people who are being violent, it's a very small minority of these protesters, the vast majority have done it peacefully,'" Lemire said.
"'Those that have been violent, of course they shouldn't do that, we will find them, we will arrest them, we will prosecute them.'"
"But this is an opportunity for this White House," Lemire added. "I heard from a White House adviser just this morning, basically saying, 'We couldn't have scripted this any better.' You're looking to change the topic of conversation from the Elon Musk brouhaha last week, and the ongoing questions about the bill, the 'big, beautiful bill' that's heading to the Senate.
"This is the turf where they want to fight, and it's California, it's Los Angeles, a deep blue state and city. They're getting those images in that B-roll ... of a masked man with a Mexican flag in front of a car that's on fire, one of those self-driving taxis, probably, and that's what they want to project to their audiences, to their base: 'Look, this is dangerous, that's why we're taking the steps that we are,' and they're setting a trap for Democrats."
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