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Donald Trump stepped up his efforts to strengthen the power of the US presidency this week when he sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles under the pretext of quelling protests against federal immigration enforcement raids. California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, had not asked for help and threatened to sue Trump over the deployment. Trump doubled down, and even suggested that he would be willing to see the governor arrested.
Trump’s strategy risks ending in tragedy, warns historian Brian VanDeMark. Though better trained than the National Guard troops deployed against anti-Vietnam War protesters in 1970 - resulting in the killing of four students - the primary mission of today's troops continues to be to fight, to kill, and to win wars.
Trump’s actions and threats over the unrest in L.A.are consistent with his attitude towards those who oppose him, argues Emma Shortis. Trump classifies those who challenge his radical agenda to reshape the United States and its role in the world as “un-American” and, therefore, deserving of contempt and, when he deems it necessary, violent oppression.
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Brian VanDeMark, United States Naval Academy
As President Trump sends National Guard troops to Los Angeles, a military historian explains why crowd control is one of the Guard’s most challenging and dangerous missions.
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Emma Shortis, RMIT University
It’s always suited Trump to manufacture crises to further his agenda. By demonising protesters as insurrectionist mobs, he could be laying the groundwork for further escalation.
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Donald Rothwell, Australian National University
Many nations agreed Israel had a right to self-defence after the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks. Whether this defence still holds 20 months later is now debatable.
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Meru Sheel, University of Sydney; Anita Heywood, UNSW Sydney
Vaccination is key to protecting against measles – but the question of when exactly is best to give the vaccine is not black and white.
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Alex Ezeh, Drexel University; Russell Viner, UCL; Sarah Baird, George Washington University
Without concerted actions, we risk failing our young people in the second critical period in their development after childhood.
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Anna Jon-And, Stockholm University; Johan Lind, Linköping University
Many scientists see evidence of language in the sounds animals put together, but they may be kidding themselves.
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Michael A. Little, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Even though there are 8 billion people on Earth today, a catastrophe could send that number much lower within a few decades.
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