The Protesters nor the Troops are the Problem: Trump is the Problem
- john raymond
- Jun 17
- 2 min read
Let’s get one thing clear before the spin consumes us: neither the protesters in California nor the troops deployed to contain them are the root of the crisis. The protests arise from pain, injustice, and a demand for accountability. The troops are fulfilling orders they did not write, often under duress, often with doubt. The problem—the sole origin of this grotesque confrontation—is Donald Trump.
He sent troops into California not to protect, not to serve, not even to stabilize—but to impose. His decision was not a response to chaos; it was an invitation to it. A political theater. A manufactured crisis built for television, intended to make him look like a man of action when all he governs by is resentment and fear.
Trump wants Americans to believe that people gathering in the streets to demand justice are enemies. He wants you to see military vehicles in your neighborhoods and think “order.” But what he’s actually delivering is tyranny with a flag draped over it.
The protesters, from every background, are marching with courage and clarity. They are demanding that this country live up to its promises. They are confronting injustice, not creating it. And the troops? They are caught in the middle—ordered to stand between a wounded public and a government that refuses to listen. Many are demoralized. Many know they’ve been misused. And still they carry themselves with restraint and professionalism.
Blaming either of these groups is a distraction.
It’s Trump who ordered this deployment over the objections of local leaders. Trump who ignored the courts. Trump who stokes fear in one breath and then demands loyalty in the next. He paints protesters as terrorists and soldiers as pawns. He has no respect for either. He sees only tools to be used.
What’s happening in California is not a failure of order. It is the result of a regime that substitutes domination for leadership. The people are rising up not because they hate America—but because they love it enough to fight for it. And the troops are not the villains here. The only villain is the man who forced them to stand in opposition to the very citizens they swore to protect.
This is what Trump does: he breaks systems and then blames the people who show up to fix them. He corrupts institutions and then gaslights the country into thinking they were always broken. He thrives on conflict—but only the kind he can stage-manage.
Do not fall for it.
The protesters are not the problem. The troops are not the problem. The problem is Donald Trump. The sooner we name it, the sooner we can start building what comes after.
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