There is much to discuss regarding Trump's illegal and unconstitutional order nationalizing 2,000 California National Guard troops in response to protests in Los Angeles. I will not attempt to summarize breaking news. Instead, I will focus on the question, “What should we do?”

My answer: De-escalate. Redirect. Overwhelm.

We face a moment of crisis, challenge, and opportunity. Let’s convert this moment of opportunity into a tipping point that irreversibly shifts the momentum in our favor for the remainder of Trump's presidency.

Brief Background.

Trump employed militarized ICE and DHS agents to provoke confrontations over civil detentions of immigrants subject to deportation. He succeeded in provoking a confrontation between alarmed citizens and combat-outfitted ICE and DHS agents. He falsely claims the protests constitute “insurrection” because of isolated incidents of violence.

Trump is looking for a larger fight so he can claim that protesters in Los Angeles are engaged in insurrection. We must not give him fuel for his incendiary campaign of lies and disinformation.

De-escalate. Redirect. Overwhelm.

We must de-escalate. Americans have every right to protest peacefully. The National Guard has no authority to stop peaceful protests or to perform police functions. (See below.) Protesters must de-escalate—no violence, no vandalism, no touching of law enforcement officers--thereby rendering the National Guard irrelevant. The National Guard will be forced to stand in the background as observers if we remove any excuse for them to “come to the aid” of ICE and DHS officers. If bad-faith provocateurs engage in violence, walk away!

We must redirect. Trump is engaging in a slow-rolling coup designed to undermine our Constitution. He has hijacked the news cycle by provoking anger and scattered violence over militarized immigration raids. We must redirect the protests to focus on the unconstitutional actions of Trump. The ICE and DHS agents are bait. Ignore them. Focus on Trump's unconstitutional actions. Those unconstitutional actions include deportation of immigrants without due process—but much, much more. DOGE. Travel bans. Illegal layoffs. Retaliation against universities, law firms, and states. Weaponizing the DOJ and FBI. Redirect the protests to Trump's actions.

Overwhelm. Take to the streets by the millions in peaceful protest to exercise our First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly, and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. No Kings Day takes place on June 14. Every American who values our democracy must show up in the streets, town squares, freeway overpasses, government buildings, parks, malls, parking lots—anywhere our voices can be heard. We need tens of millions of Americans protesting in thousands of locations. Trump and his enablers can’t possibly keep up with overwhelming, decentralized protests.

Addressing Readers’ Fears.

Within moments of Trump's order nationalizing California National Guard troops, I began receiving concerned emails from readers that expressed a cascading set of fears, as follows:

• The presence of the troops is designed to provoke a violent backlash.

• Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act.

• Trump will declare martial law.

• Trump will cancel the 2026 mid-term elections.

We need to take a deep breath and pause for a moment. The feared outcomes are highly unlikely.

Whether there is a violent backlash is entirely within our control. If we de-escalate, there is no basis for the succeeding steps in the logic chain of cascading fears.

There is not now, and should not be, any basis for the invocation of the Insurrection Act. It is possible that Trump will invoke the Act, but as a practical matter, its application would not differ from the current situation in Los Angeles—the deployment of the US military in the face of peaceful protests. We are there already—albeit illegally. (See below.)

Many readers and commenters use the term “martial law” to suggest that the military will replace a functioning civilian government. That notion is completely backward. Although the jurisprudence relating to martial law is nuanced and full of exceptions, the purpose of martial law is to re-establish the functioning of the civil government after it has been shut down by insurrection. In general, if courts remain open and functioning, then there is no basis for martial law. Moreover, martial law is limited to the area in which the courts and civil government have ceased functioning.

In short, there is no basis for Trump to invoke martial law. And if he did, it would be limited geographically and temporally until the courts are functioning in the affected area.

Finally, the fifty states conduct federal elections. The president has no role in administering federal elections. The states must and will hold federal elections in 2026. Why? Because the terms of every member of the House and one-third of the Senate will expire at 11:59 a.m. on January 3, 2027. States must hold elections for federal officeholders in November 2026 to fill the seats expiring in January 2027.

It is illogical and impossible to talk about “cancelling” the 2026 elections. The House of Representatives would be vacant, and the Senate would lack a majority party. Congress would effectively cease to exist if there were no elections in 2026. The Supreme Court would not allow that to happen. Nor would the people of the United States.

I understand the cascading fears being expressed by readers. While Trump may try to proceed down the ladder of chaos, he will not get far—especially if we ensure that he has no excuse to proclaim insurrection or rebellion because of scattered violence.

The legal framework.

Trump's use of the California National Guard is illegal and unconstitutional.

In short,

• The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of the US military against the public to enforce laws of the states or the US.

• The Insurrection Act is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, allowing the president to deploy federal troops to “suppress rebellion” whenever “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion” make it “impracticable” to enforce federal law in that state by the “ordinary course of judicial proceedings.” See Joseph Nunn in Brennan Center for Justice, The Insurrection Act Explained.

In other words, the Insurrection Act applies when federal law cannot be enforced in the ordinary course through judicial proceedings. The federal courts in Los Angeles are operating normally, and therefore, there is no plausible basis for invoking the Insurrection Act. But even if there were a basis for doing so, the Insurrection Act only authorizes the military to assist civil authorities in enforcing the law.

Under another provision of the Insurrection Act, the president may order federal troops to suppress an “insurrection or domestic violence” that obstructs the enforcement of federal law. But peaceful protest is neither an insurrection nor domestic violence, so there is no basis for invoking the Insurrection Act under the “obstruction of federal law” prong.

For those interested in a primer on the Insurrection Act, I recommend Joseph Nunn’s essay, The Insurrection Act Explained.

BUT, President Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act. Instead, he has federalized California National Guard troops for the narrow purpose of protecting federal property and protecting ICE and DHS agents. See Lawfare, The National Guard in Los Angeles.

Per the Lawfare article, (by Chris Mirasola),

the president has authorized National Guard personnel to “temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel . . . .and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur.”

In short, the National Guard troops in Los Angeles (as of Sunday evening) are not authorized to suppress protests or perform police functions.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has demanded that Trump remove the federalized troops from Los Angeles. See NYTimes, Newsom Formally Asks Trump to Pull National Guard Out of L.A. (Accessible to all.)

As reported in the Times, Governor Newsom said,

“We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved,” Mr. Newsom said. “This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.”

Governor Newsom said he will file a lawsuit on Monday morning. I haven’t seen the suit, but federal courts generally do not second-guess decisions by the president to deploy federal troops. The best solution is de-escalate, re-direct, and overwhelm.

Concluding Thoughts

The situation in Los Angeles is serious, regardless of political strategy. But Trump has made a grave mistake. By concentrating on San Diego and Los Angeles, he is targeting Latino immigrants, separating families, and removing long-time, productive, law-abiding members of the community. Equally important, Trump has outraged tens of millions of Americans ahead of a militarized “Flag Day” parade that coincides with thousands of planned protests across America for “No Kings Day.” Trump just supercharged the planned protests—a move he will undoubtedly regret.

There will be a tipping point that breaks Trump's second term. The deployment of the National Guard in California may be that point. If not, it seems as though we are rushing toward a point at which every American who supports democracy will be roused to act. I hope that you will join in protests on No Kings Day (or sooner). Together, there is nothing we cannot do.

Given the urgency of events, I will host a Substack livestream on Monday at 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET. Mindful of my own comments about “too many newsletters / notifications,” I will not send a reminder email about the livestream. Open the Substack App at the appointed time, and you should see a notification that I am livestreaming. Hopefully, everything will be calm, and the livestream will last 5 to 10 minutes. If there is more to discuss, I will livestream for the usual 30 minutes.

Monday is my wife’s birthday. If you know Jill personally (or through her blog), please send her birthday wishes. This newsletter exists only because of her support, patience, and guidance. We met 63 years ago (in the First Grade) and have never looked back!

Talk to you tomorrow at 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET.

Daily Dose of Perspective

The photo below of an abandoned Richfield gas station was taken on Sunday as we drove home from a short stay at our cabin in the Sequoia National Park. The service station is located in the tiny town of Lemon Cove, near the Sierra foothills. The population of Lemon Cove is 504. At one time, Lemon Cove boasted three service stations. Today, there are none.

Across the highway from the Richfield station is the building that housed the Lemon Cove Women’s Club. Between 1924 and sometime in the 1950s, my great aunt belonged to the Lemon Cove Women’s Club (founded in 1924 at the site of the old Pogue Hotel). My great-aunt played bridge at the club, a social event that was frequently reported in the local newspapers. The original Club building is still lovingly preserved. See below.