President Donald Trump called protesters in Los Angeles “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) as he defended deploying the military on demonstrators opposed to his immigration enforcement raids.
Mr Trump, in his most aggressive language yet regarding the protests in Los Angeles, used a speech ostensibly supposed to be used to recognise the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army to denounce the demonstrators while repeating his false statements about the 2020 election being rigged and attacking the previous commander-in-chief, former President Joe Biden.
The Republican president, who sees the military as a critical tool for domestic goals, has used the recent protests in Los Angeles as an opportunity to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines over the objections of California’s Democratic Governor to quell disturbances that began as protests over immigration raids.
Trump says Los Angeles would burn 'to the ground' if no troops sent
While protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend in Los Angeles, the demonstrations in the city of four million people have largely been centred in several blocks of downtown.
