President Donald Trump called some of the protests at anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles “paid insurrectionists” and said the city would be “burning” had he not deployed the National Guard.
Watch Trump’s remarks in the player above.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office, he said “I could tell you there are certain areas of Los Angeles that you could have called it an insurrection. It was terrible, but these are paid insurrectionists. These are paid troublemakers,” Trump said.
WATCH: Trump says people who protest military parade ‘will be met with very heavy force’
Trump pointed to demonstrators who used hammers to chip away pieces of concrete that were flung at police, but did not elaborate or offer evidence of paid protesters.
“The bad sick people that do what they do, but these are paid people in many cases, not in all cases, but in many cases.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued the Trump administration for calling up the state National Guard, saying he was overreaching his authority. Newsom filed another emergency motion on Tuesday to block additional federalized state National Guard troops and Marines from being sent to the city.
“If we didn’t get involved, right now Los Angeles would be burning just like it was burning a number of months ago with all the houses that were lost. Los Angeles right now would be on fire, and we have it in great shape,” Trump said referring to the wildfires that destroyed parts of the city in January.
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