Why Donald Trump Had to Attack California [View all]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/06/10/trump-california-history-unrest-00396549

Excellent thinking about why Trump is attacking the 5th biggest economy on planet Earth.

"...If a place as big and diverse as California can be said to have a coherent set of values, those today would include respect for the environment, benevolence toward immigrants, support for living wages and insistence on civilian control over police. And if those values prevail, they do so at the expense of Trump, who is on the opposite side of every one of them.

That tension has flared time and again in the Trump era, as the president has bashed California over its struggles with homelessness, its permissive voting rules and its determination to limit auto emissions, all manifestations of those values. Although California is a powerful donor state to the federal government — taxpayers here pay about $80 billion a year more than the state receives in federal services — Trump withheld support for homeowners devastated by January wildfires, demanding that federal aid be contingent on the state adopting Voter ID laws to curb fictional voter abuse that Trump believes cost him the state in his losing campaigns here.

That was an attempt at bribery. It failed. Now comes force.

From Trump’s perspective, California is thumbing its nose at his program for America. He’s right about that. What seems to confound him and his allies is that it’s not California’s political leadership that’s behind that contempt — it’s not Newsom or Bass or the state legislature — it’s the people of the state, in overwhelming numbers and relying on deeply held beliefs. Those leaders are merely reflecting back what their constituents demand. Again, Trump lost to Biden here by almost 30 points — more than 5 million votes —- despite all the state’s struggles and all the former president’s flaws...

And so, this government-induced unrest continues. If the goal is to calm Los Angeles, the solution would be simple: Withdraw federal forces and let the LAPD and Sheriff’s Department do their jobs.
But that’s not the goal.
The unrest goes on because Trump needs it to.
He’s not just fighting for deportations.
He’s fighting for his values in a state that rejects them."

AMEN. When you come for California, you best not miss.