'LA would have been completely obliterated': Trump justifies deploying National Guard in California; says governor should 'thank' him

US President Donald Trump on Monday justified his decision to deploy National Guard in California amid the ongoing unrest in Los Angeles. In a post on Truth social, Trump said that his administration will always do what is needed to keep our citizens safe."We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated. The very incompetent “Governor,” Gavin Newscom, and “Mayor,” Karen Bass, should be saying, “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR,” Trump said."Instead, they choose to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are “peaceful protests.”

Just one look at the pictures and videos of the Violence and Destruction tells you all you have to know. We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he added.This comes as downtown Los Angeles became the epicenter of chaos and confrontation as protests against US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown boiled over into violence, with police deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, and flashbangs to subdue demonstrators.

Protesters set self-driving cars ablaze, blocked the 101 freeway, and clashed with law enforcement late into Sunday night, leaving parts of the city scorched and on edge.The flashpoint came after Trump took the extraordinary step of deploying the National Guard to California without the consent of the state's governor, an act not seen in decades. More than 300 troops arrived over the weekend, with 2,000 authorised and 500 US Marines on standby.Meanwhile, California governor Gavin Newsom told MSNBC that he will file suit on Monday against the Trump administration and called its order "an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act." By Monday morning, more than 150 people had been arrested in Los Angeles alone. The streets downtown were littered with scorched cars, shattered barricades, and graffiti-smeared buildings, evidence of a city pushed to the brink.