Democrats Navigate Political Risks Amid California Protests

During their closed-door weekly luncheon on Tuesday, Democratic senators heard from California representatives Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, who distinguished between isolated incidents of vandalism in Los Angeles and the vast majority of peaceful demonstrators protesting President Trump’s immigration deportation initiatives.

Meanwhile, President Trump was in the Oval Office recounting episodes of violence, rhetorically asking reporters, “Did you see the individual throwing rocks at police vehicles?”

For Democrats, the sporadic but intense disturbances in Southern California have thrust two politically charged topics—immigration and crime—into the spotlight, raising concerns that the president is deliberately provoking a contentious issue that could backfire on the party.

The president’s extraordinary move to deploy military personnel to manage domestic protests, overriding objections from local officials including Governor Gavin Newsom, has drawn fierce rebuke from Democrats who view the action as authoritarian and unconstitutional.

In a recent interview, Representative Schiff urged Democrats to resist falling into the president’s political narrative while firmly opposing his policies.