Hillary Clinton Slams President Trump for ‘Complacent Action’ of Sending National Guard to Los Angeles
In a controversial move that has sparked a social media outcry, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has harshly criticized President Donald Trump after he unilaterally decided to send the National Guard to Los Angeles without any formal request from California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Clinton, who was Trump’s biggest political opponent in the 2016 presidential election, posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter):
“Sending military without state approval is a dangerous and arbitrary act. It reflects the complacency and lust for power of a leader who has no respect for federal law.”
A controversial decision
According to sources from the White House, President Trump signed an executive order to mobilize nearly 1,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles on Monday morning, citing the need to “maintain order and prevent potential riots”. However, Governor Gavin Newsom – who has the authority to request federal assistance in emergencies – has insisted that he “has never made any request” and that the situation in California is “under control”.
Mr. Trump’s arbitrary intervention in the state’s authority has angered many politicians, scholars and Americans. Many see this as a blatant abuse of power and a violation of the principle of separation of powers between the federal and state governments – one of the pillars of the US Constitution.
Hillary Clinton: “I warned you!”
In her article, Mrs. Clinton emphasized:
“We have seen him disregard the power of governors, from forcing the economy to reopen during the pandemic to threatening to cut off their budgets if they do not comply. Now, he acts as if he is the president of a dictatorship, not the elected leader of a democracy.”
The former Secretary of State also did not hesitate to reiterate the concerns she raised during the 2016 presidential debate:
“I warned that if he were elected, he would undermine democratic institutions and disregard the authority of the Constitution. Now, it is all coming true.”
Reaction from the White House
President Trump’s press secretary was quick to reject Mrs. Clinton’s criticism, saying that “she is deliberately politicizing an effort to keep the American people safe.” At a press briefing in Washington, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said:
“The president doesn’t need permission from a left-leaning Democratic governor to do the right thing. When the intelligence shows there’s a risk of unrest, he acts – and that’s why America is safer under President Trump.”
However, this response did little to quell the outrage. A number of Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have also spoken out against Trump’s actions, calling for Congress to open an investigation into the abuse of executive power.
The deployment of the National Guard without the governor’s approval not only raises legal questions, but also inflames deep divisions between the two parties in a tense election year. With this action, President Trump seems to be betting on the image of a “protector of order” – while his opponents, especially Hillary Clinton, see it as a clear sign of an increasingly authoritarian leader.
