Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) has forcefully criticized President Donald Trump for his latest claims alleging that California officials paid agitators to incite riots in Los Angeles. The accusation, Schiff says, is yet another unfounded justification Trump is using to deploy military forces in the state amid protests against his mass deportation policies.
In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday evening, Schiff responded directly to Trump’s assertion that California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “paid troublemakers, agitators and insurrectionists” to incite unrest. The president used the claim to justify his controversial decision to send in the National Guard and the Marine Corps.
“Well, this is Donald Trump being Donald Trump, basically making statements out of whole cloth, making the craziest allegations, then trying to deny them,” Schiff said. “You know, it’s awful, frankly, to have a president that nobody can believe what he says from morning, noon, or night. But it’s also quite traditional Trump, and that is, he wants to justify the unjustifiable.”
Schiff argued that Trump’s tactic is to sow chaos and portray himself as a leader of law and order, despite past actions that contradict such a narrative. “He wants to somehow pretend to be a president of law and order, when his first act in office was to pardon hundreds of people who attacked law enforcement officers,” Schiff added. “So, you know, we’ve got this president who no one can really have confidence or trust in, and he’s displaying once again why there is so little trust in him.”
When asked about Trump’s dramatic claim that “L.A. would be burning to the ground right now” without federal intervention, Schiff responded bluntly. “Well, this is another perfect illustration of Trump’s repeated false statements. I mean, he’s kind of a firehose of falsehood,” the senator said.
Schiff noted that Trump claimed success in restoring order before the National Guard had even arrived. “So, you know, this is the president basically, I guess, speaking whatever comes into his head, no matter how false, no matter how improper,” he said. “He, at one point, said he supported the arrest of the governor. It’s absurd nonsense.”
The senator concluded by condemning Trump’s use of the military as a political tool, warning that such actions damage public trust. “To misuse [the National Guard and Marine Corps] in this way… to intimidate Americans — it’s just such a terrible abuse,” Schiff said. “But one, I really think we’re likely to see replicated in other cities.”