Written by Katelyn Sims
As riots gruesomely unfold in LA with the arrival of more U.S. troops sent by President Trump, the RNC met on June 10th for a press conference where Speaker Johnson, Representatives Lisa McClain and Gabe Evans, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise spoke.
In reference to the L.A. riots, Rep. McClain opened the conference saying,
“They [L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Newsom] have messed around with the lives of Americans when they made their sanctuary cities safe for illegals, and they messed around when they also allowed violent protestors to attack law enforcement agents. Now they’re finding out the hard way what it looks like to actually restore law and order.”
AP News reports that around 2,000 National Guard members have been sent to L.A., as 700 Marines soon join them.
McClain reiterated to the press that the Senate needs to pass the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ because ICE “needs our help.”
Also speaking at the conference was Rep. Evans from Colorado, who discussed his resolution condemning the attack in Boulder that had passed the House the day before.
“We have to do more,” said Evans. “Thoughts and condolences are important, but they’re not enough … we are focused on solutions to prevent things like this from happening again.”
Evans addressed how Minority Leader Schumer had attacked him during a conversation about making communities safe following the antisemitic attack in Colorado and stated that that “is the politicization of a tragedy.”
Majority Leader Scalise also delivered a statement where he condemned protestors waving a foreign flag in an American city, saying that viewers are witnessing mayhem, chaos and disorder. Other sources identify that this has become a symbol.
Jesse Watters from Fox is recorded saying “This doesn’t look like assimilation. This looks like what it is – an invasion.”
Speaker Johnson delivered the last speech before opening up for questions and urged listeners to remember “how we got here”, suggesting that the uprising of riots did not happen overnight. He mentioned that the Biden Administration sought an open border, and sanctuary states across the U.S. embraced and protected illegals.
Johnson affirmed that “Trump was absolutely right to send in the National Guard and to clean up for the governor’s failures.”
Protests have now erupted in major cities across the U.S. including Seattle, Las Vegas, New York and Chicago. Sources suggest that protests in other cities aside from L.A. have remained largely peaceful, although Greg Abbott of Texas has authorized a portion of the National Guard to be deployed across Texas “to ensure peace and order.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has appeared before Senate Democrats who have put him under fire for the deployment of troops to L.A., stating that it has escalated what was originally peaceful.
The Democratic Governors Association published an official statement on June 8th regarding the matter.
“President Trump’s move to deploy California’s National Guard is an alarming abuse of power. Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous. Further, threatening to send the U.S. Marines into American neighborhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement. It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation.”
This statement was released by many governors including Governor Tim Walz.
