Welcome to the First Things podcast. On this episode, we'll discuss the immigration riots in Los Angeles and Donald Trump's feud with Gavin Newsom. Then we'll discuss that other feud, which now seems so last week but does raise real questions about the MAGA Coalition. I'm joined by editor Rusty Reno.

I'm senior editor Julia Yost. Thanks for joining us.

Why is Los Angeles always burning? If it's not literally on fire, which it often is,

then it's always being consumed by some controversy.

This week we have a bit of both, and the issue, of course, is immigration.

So over the weekend, ice raids on workplaces in Los Angeles touched off protests, mostly peaceful, as the news organizations insist.

But there were pockets of disorder, and some highways were blocked, some self-driving

taxis were in flames.

Whether or not it was enough to justify calling up the National Guard, Trump did that over

the head of California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Naturally, this antagonized Newsom and arguably the protesters whose behavior deteriorated, Trump has now sent in a few hundred Marines as well.

Newsom has said that California will sue Trump over the National Guard deployment.

Federalizing National Guard troops renders them the same as active duty military, and it's not at all clear that the unrest in L.A.

justifies deploying military troops within the U.S. same issue with the Marines.

Rusty, what's going on?

Well, I think the summer of discontent 2020, I think, is something that taught the Trump administration a lesson about the need to be proactive.

I think the, as I understand that the National Guard troops defend, they protect the federal

buildings and the ICE headquarters.

And so they didn't want a repeat of the Portland, Oregon scenario where the courthouse there

was attacked day after day after day.

And probably wisely so, and so that frees up LAPD to do the on the street enforcement.

So it seems like the, you know, the administration doesn't want National Guard

...