The Riots Are A Gift To Trump

What better way to advance the president’s agenda than rioters flying the Mexican flag?

Los Angeles continues to witness clashes between Hispanics and law enforcement. Since the weekend, agitators have torched cars, looted, and caused general mayhem in response to ICE arresting illegal alien felons. The rioters proudly waved the Mexican flag amid the chaos. Trump deployed Marines and National Guard to LA to restore order. The president is even threatening to arrest Gov. Gavin Newsom if he tries to hinder federal actions to curb the violence.

It’s the biggest news this week, with liberals fretting that this could lead to tyranny and conservatives worrying it could lead to a long summer of nationwide rioting. Hysteric elements on both sides think this may lead to a coup, either to give Trump absolute power or to toss him out of the White House. Both claims are far-fetched, but liberals are right to worry that the riots help Trump. These disturbances aren’t going to be a replay of the George Floyd Revolution. Hispanic migrants rioting over immigration enforcement perfectly advertises the need for Trump’s agenda.

America in 2025 is a very different country than it was in 2020. We are not all locked in our homes without even sports to entertain us. Trump Derangement Syndrome is much lower now and fewer Americans pay attention to the media. The riots of 2020 were set off over a much different cause that, thanks to media manipulation and people losing their minds while locked down, provided a large base of support for riots. Americans directed their anger over the lockdowns to the cause of “racial justice,” with two-thirds of the country backing Black Lives Matter during the “Summer of Love.”

These elements aren’t present in 2025. Few Americans are going to riot over deported gangbangers or sympathize with Mexican flag-waving rioters. Blacks, the core demographic for the 2020 riots, aren’t going to care about this. Even a number of Hispanics don’t want to get involved, as some polls show a majority of Latinos approve of Trump’s job performance. Antifa is far weaker than it was in 2020. Goofy white libs will come out to protest, but don’t expect resistance grandmas to commit much violence. The only group that will really involve itself in these riots are Hispanics who fear deportation. The vast majority of Americans don’t worry about this. In fact, a majority of Americans still support Trump’s mass deportations pledge.

These riots are more likely to increase support for deportations than discourage enthusiasm. Americans aren’t fond of disorder and violence, particularly from thuggish men demonstrating loyalty to a foreign country. It’s terrible optics for the open borders supporters. The riots paint a picture of illegal immigrant communities as violent, hostile to the rule of law, and unassimilated. The disturbances undercut the myth that illegals are merely undocumented Americans who work harder and love this country more than the natives. They instead look like a fifth column. Only the most brainwashed lib could see the burning cars and looting and think deportations are a bad idea. It’s guaranteed Republicans will run ads with riot footage to demonstrate the need for more immigration enforcement.

In order for Trump to pursue a radical agenda, he needs extremism from the other side to make his case. Throughout our history, the abundance of left-wing extremism provided the grounds for a reactionary agenda. The Immigration Act of 1924 was passed thanks to the rise of left-wing terrorism and the Bolshevik Revolution. A clear and present threat persuades Americans to support dramatic actions. The LA riots could provide the basis for mass deportations and push conservatives further to the Right. Sympathy for illegals diminishes when they burn American cities and fly a foreign flag.

The riots undermine Trump’s political opponents. Democrats are now forced to stand with rioters against law and order. The violence is happening under the watch of a Democratic mayor and Democratic governor. Plenty of Democrats bemoan Trump’s strong response far more than they condemn the arsonists and looters. The opposition party and its media allies painfully try to claim that the protests are “mostly peaceful” and insist that the demonstrators are fighting for a good cause. The public can see for themselves that this is BS and will conclude that the Left is on the side of the rioters, not the majority who wants them deported.

It also undermines Trump’s opponents on the Right. Last week, Elon Musk, Thomas Massie, and Rand Paul went scorched earth on the president’s big, beautiful bill. Musk vowed to finance primary challengers against those who voted for the bill and called upon his followers to light up Capitol Hill’s phone lines to kill the bill. He even endorsed Trump’s impeachment for supporting the bill. Now, Musk is trying to slither back into the good graces of MAGA, sharing posts from Trump and J.D. Vance condemning the riots. It’s unclear if Trump will forgive Musk for calling him a pedophile, but it’s at least clear Musk now cares more about the riots than killing the bill to fund immigration enforcement. The same can’t be said for Massie and Paul, who doubled down on their opposition to Trump’s marque legislation. This discredited them among conservatives, making it less likely they could block the bill.

Support for the big, beautiful bill is now reportedly stronger among Senate Republicans following the riots. The violence demonstrates the need for more funding for ICE and Border Patrol. Complaints about the debt look out-of-touch when LA is on fire.

Trump is far better positioned to respond to riots and use them for his advantage than he was in 2020. His cabinet is significantly more loyal to him. The GOP is more united in support of Trump and his agenda. The public is less anti-Trump and more apatheic. The people are also far more anti-immigrant than they were during the first term. Riots provide the opportunity for Trump to advance his agenda and wield federal power against his political foes.

The Left is stupid to encourage riots with Trump as president. It will only hurt their cause.