In a blistering address at Fort Bragg on Tuesday, President Donald Trump labeled protesters in Los Angeles ‘animals’ and ‘a foreign enemy’. While commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, Trump employed the event to defend his widely criticized deployment of troops to suppress protests against immigration raids in California.
We are not going to let an American city be overrun and occupied by a foreign enemy. That is what they are,” Trump said of the riots in Los Angeles. Protest turned violent over the weekend with cars burning and a main freeway shut down. But much of the activity was contained within a few blocks of downtown LA.
Trump Deploy Troops in LA
The president has already ordered 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to be deployed in Los Angeles, over California Governor Gavin Newsom’s opposition. Although the Marines have not yet been sent to action, their presence has heightened tensions. Newsom has filed a request in federal court to enjoin the president from employing military force in the state.
Trump hasn’t excluded using the Insurrection Act, a drastic legal step that enables the president to use military forces within the United States to quell rebellion or enforce federal law. “We will free Los Angeles and make it free, clean and safe again,” Trump said to the audience.
Responses from Supporters and Critics
The speech, which brought boisterous cheers and laughter from much of the audience particularly when Trump danced to his campaign song ‘YMCA’, nonetheless made some in the crowd uncomfortable. Robin Boothe, a 50-year-old audiology assistant for Fort Bragg and a Trump voter, said in a statement to the press: “I felt that was better left in a news conference rather than what we were celebrating today.”
She called the comments ‘classic Trump’, but conceded the partisan spirit, especially regarding Los Angeles, seemed misplaced on a military holiday.
Governor Newsom responded Tuesday night, cautioning that Trump’s actions would create a perilous precedent. “California may be first, but clearly it will not end there. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under attack before our eyes,” he said in a public address.
Restoring Names of Confederate Bases
As part of the response to the protests, Trump stated that his administration is bringing back seven U.S. military bases that had been renamed under Joe Biden’s presidency. Some of them include Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Polk in Louisiana, Fort Gordon in Georgia, and Virginia-based Fort Pickett, Fort Robert E. Lee, and Fort A.P. Hill, as well as Fort Rucker in Alabama.
“Can you believe they renamed that a little bit under the last administration?” Trump asked supporters. “We’ll never hear about it again.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has already brought back the names Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, said the renaming would again utilize service members with the same last names to symbolically keep the bases’ history without actually naming the bases after Confederate leaders.
Celebration, Parade Plans, and Protests Ahead
The celebration at Fort Bragg, located just outside Fayetteville, North Carolina, featured a carnival-like setting. Children played on inflatable slides and military displays, while vendors outside the event area sold Trump campaign hats and T-shirts.
Trump also teased a huge military parade planned for Saturday in Washington, D.C., timed for his 79th birthday. “I think it’s going to be great,” he said to reporters early that morning. “We’re going to celebrate our country for a change.”
But the parade has also unleashed criticism, with demonstrators organizing ‘No Kings Day’ protests to counter what they see as a demonstration of authoritarian bravado. Trump was combative, declaring, “I haven’t even heard about a protest but you know, this is people that hate our country. But they will be met with very heavy force.”
He added, “They will be met with very big force,” again declaring he is willing to respond to opposition using military might.
Military Leaders Parrot Trump’s Rhetoric
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll joined the president on stage to commend Trump as “the greatest recruiter in our Army’s history.” Defense Secretary Hegseth focused on a restoration of traditional military values. “We’re not a university or college. We’re not interested in your political correctness and woke garbage,” Hegseth declared to rapturous applause.
Ahead of Trump’s speech, the audience witnessed dramatic military demonstrations, such as a missile launch, a helicopter assault simulation, and a simulated building raid — all highlighting what the president sees as the strength and future of the American military in his era.
