During an interview with CNN correspondent Kyung Lah, California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters reacted to Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and branded him ‘cruel’
07:04 ET, 09 Jun 2025Updated 08:59 ET, 09 Jun 2025
CNN issued a brutal blow to Donald Trump due to the President’s response to the riots that broke out in Los Angeles this weekend.
In an interview with the TV channel’s correspondent Kyung Lah, California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters described Trump as a “cruel, dishonorable human being” while addressing his decision to deploy the National Guard. Waters spoke to Lah after attempting to visit David Huerta, the President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who was arrested during the protests at the weekend. Waters expressed her surprise at the equipment and weapons the troops had.
Showing images of the Guardsmen in LA, the journalist said during the broadcast, “And then I want you to take a look at what these Guardsmen are carrying. You can see these large sticks. We saw them about 15 minutes ago, pull them out and take a more aggressive posture, as if to be prepared to push back the crowd.” It comes just weeks after Trump was branded the “dumbest president ever” following a shocking 6-word blunder.
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Lah continued in her broadcast: “But then the weapon that they’re holding are standard issue M4 weapons. They’re military M4 rifles. And take a closer look at that magazine. Those are magazines suggesting that they are indeed loaded with ammunition.” As the camera showed the crowd gathering in the California city, she continued, “And I want you to take a larger look at this crowd that we have.
Maxine Waters described Trump as ‘cruel'(Image: AP)
“This isn’t a sizable crowd, it’s a growing crowd, but this is what they are seeing here in downtown Los Angeles, an incredible militarized force. It actually brought congresswoman Maxine Waters, this image brought her down here to the Metropolitan Detention Center. She tried to get inside to talk to the president of SEIU, he was detained. She could not get in. The door indeed was slammed in her face. And then here’s what she said about the militarization she’s seeing here in downtown Los Angeles.”
Talking about the weapons seen in the images, Waters said, “I don’t know why we have guns. What are those guns for? Are they to shoot protesters? I mean, there’s no reason to be here with the National Guard.
The National Guard, police and protesters stand off in LA(Image: Getty Images)
“The President of the United States is a cruel, dishonorable human being who would just as soon they shoot somebody down. But I don’t want that to happen. I do not want – I want the elected officials to do everything that we can to dissuade them.”
After airing the interview, the CNN correspondent concluded, “Here’s the concern. It’s the cauldron that has been created today by the deployment of the National Guard, by how people are feeling about these ICE arrests that occurred on Friday, what that clash could mean today here on the streets of Los Angeles.”
A protester holds up a Mexican flag as burning cars line the street(Image: Getty Images)
The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were “overwhelmed” by the remaining protesters – and said they included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble.
Several dozen people were arrested throughout the weekend of protest. One was detained Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police, and another for ramming a motorcycle into a line of officers. Trump responded to McDonnell on Truth Social, telling him to arrest protesters in face masks. “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he wrote.
Protesters clash with law enforcement in the streets of LA(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom requested Trump remove the guard members in a letter Sunday afternoon, calling their deployment a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” His comments were echoed by Mayor Karen Bass who said in an afternoon press conference, “What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration. This is about another agenda, this isn’t about public safety.”
However, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded by saying, “It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously said Trump’s decision to deploy 2,000 National Guardsmen aimed “to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
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