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Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, from the moment Donald Trump entered the public sphere, he has thrived on division and diversion. He fans the flames of chaos, then pretends to be the firefighter--always looking for someone else to blame for the infernos he helps ignite--all in an attempt to divert Americans away from his many failures.
Now Donald Trump, cornered by his own failures from pushing a heartless bill that would rip healthcare away from 16 million Americans and raise costs from his reckless tariffs war, to waging war with Elon Musk--Trump is desperately seeking a distraction. His order to deploy the National Guard and Marines--our own troops on Americans--is not just outrageous and provocative; it is a dangerous authoritarian overreach that threatens the very fabric of our democracy. This isn't leadership; it is provocation.
To be very clear, violent protest is not the answer for achieving the work of justice--full stop. Protests must remain peaceful, and law and order must be maintained, but let me emphasize: Deploying federalized troops without a State's consent hasn't happened in over 60 years, and when it did, it was to protect civil rights heroes who were marching for justice in Selma, AL. That moment was about progress. This one is about power and intimidation.
We must all stand up and say loud and clear: America will not be bullied into submission by a President who confuses strength with force and democracy with domination.
Americans don't deserve more fear, more division, more chaos. The President is using the military not to protect the people but to silence them. He is playing politics with the lives of our troops and the safety of our citizens. It is shameful. It is unlawful. It is deeply un-American. Once again, President Trump is choosing chaos over competence and division over democracy.
We must all stand up and say loud and clear: America will not be bullied into submission by a President who confuses strength with force and democracy with domination.
The only consequence of Donald Trump's order of sending troops to Los Angeles is chaos, and Americans don't like it. Instead of deescalating, Donald Trump is pouring fuel into a fire, hoping for an explosion to distract from what he is really doing. President Trump should call back the National Guard and the Marines immediately and leave the work of law enforcement to the Governor and the mayor who are more than capable of keeping order without escalation.
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