Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., informed NBC Information’ “Meet the Press” that Trump’s determination to deploy the Nationwide Guard was an effort to de-escalate tensions.
“I feel what President Trump’s making an attempt to do is fairly clear. He is making an attempt to de-escalate all of the tensions which can be there,” he mentioned.
He referred to protests within the wake of George Floyd’s homicide, saying, “What President Trump is making an attempt to do is say this isn’t going to take weeks this time” to quell unrest.
Lankford additionally spoke about Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth’s suggestion that active-duty Marines may very well be deployed to assist reply to the protests. He mentioned in a post on X that “if violence continues, lively responsibility Marines at Camp Pendleton can even be mobilized — they’re on excessive alert.”
Lankford mentioned that the Los Angeles Police Division was “being overwhelmed.”
He famous that “lively responsibility Marines should not going to be put into native regulation enforcement,” including that if Marines have been mobilized, they might be in “assist roles.”
“Because the protests rise, we need to be certain that these protests truly do not spiral uncontrolled,” he mentioned.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., mentioned that “it will not be needed” to herald Marines to answer the protests.
“Convey within the Nationwide Guard. That is what occurred right here in Wisconsin, and it labored,” Johnson mentioned. “I am fairly positive it will work in California.”
