Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social :: Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News
* * * *
Another week of resistance, another week of success.
June 21, 2025
Robert B. Hubbell
Jun 20, 2025
[I will host my regular Saturday morning livestream at 9 am PT / Noon ET on June 21, 2025. Open to all on the Substack App on your phone or tablet.]
We lurched to the week’s end with many stories seemingly marking time—an illusion that masks the increasingly unfavorable ratings regarding many of Trump's policies. His cruel policy of using armed thugs to seize productive, peaceful immigrants from workplaces and courthouses has turned popular sentiment against him. (As always, he doesn’t care; those who support him will answer at the ballot box.) MAGA is tearing itself apart over a potential attack on Iran. Red states are waking up to the likelihood that their rural hospitals will close and hundreds of thousands of their residents will lose medical coverage.
The resistance is making a difference, even when it may feel unsuccessful in the short term.
For example, on Thursday, ICE agents attempted to raid Dodger Stadium. The gun-toting, masked agents were turned away at the gates by LAPD. Until that provocation, the Dodgers had remained silent about the military occupation of LA and the militarized ICE raids. On Friday, the Dodgers announced that the organization would contribute $1 million to support immigrant families affected by the ICE raids. See KTLA, L.A. Dodgers pledge $1 million to support immigrant communities after ICE raid backlash.
Approximately 40% of the Dodgers’ fan base is Hispanic. I wish that the Dodgers acted out of concern for the families of their fans, but the sad truth is that the Dodgers were forced to take action by a coalition of Latino organizations. Those organizations--Little Latin America USA, California Rising, El Salvador Corridor Association, CD1 Coalition, and the L.A. Youth & Family Foundation--held a press conference in front of Dodger Stadium earlier this week, demanding that the Dodgers act. The team responded to the pressure.
The Dodger example shows the way forward. Corporations are nervously monitoring events—especially those events that affect their bottom lines. A boycott of Dodger home games by a Latino community fearful of ICE raids would quickly impair the value of the franchise. Just ask Tesla. And Target. And Elon Musk.
Trump knows he is losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the American people, especially in Los Angeles. Trump sent Vice President J.D. Vance to Los Angeles in hopes of creating raw meat to feed to the grumpy base. Vance failed spectacularly.
Vance is under the misimpression that he has a sense of humor and can tell jokes. He tried to make fun of the arrest of US Senator Alex Padilla for asking a question to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. But Vance referred to Senator Alex Padilla as “Jose Padilla,” because in Vance’s bigoted mind, all Latino males are named “Jose.”
Senator Alex Padilla is an accomplished person of dignity and integrity who is highly regarded by most Californians. Insulting Senator Padilla by resorting to a racist trope will accelerate Trump's unfavorability in the Latino community in California and nationwide.
Equally bad for Vance (and Trump) is Vance’s statement that “[t]he “rioting has gotten a lot better” in Los Angeles since Trump sent in federal troops. Of course, ten million Angelenos can tell you that there is no rioting and hasn’t been for more than a week. Even then, “rioting” is a false characterization of peaceful protests where a few bad actors engaged in a handful of acts of violence and vandalism.
Speaking of “a handful of acts of violence and vandalism,” a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the order of Judge Breyer, holding that Trump must relinquish control of the California National Guard to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
In reversing Judge Breyer’s ruling, the three-judge panel ruled that a handful of acts of violence and vandalism constituted the inability of the president to “execute the laws,” justifying the federalization of National Guard troops.
The standard adopted by the three-judge panel is preposterous. It would allow the president to federalize the National Guard any time a fraternity party resulted in drunk undergraduates throwing beer bottles at police. [That was sarcasm, but just barely. The panel did concede that there was a de minimis limit that would not qualify as “inability to execute the laws.”]
Despite the ruling, there is still reason for hope, as explained in Democracy Docket, Appeals Court Upholds Trump’s Control of California National Guard.
First, the panel acknowledged that the president’s federalization of the National Guard is subject to judicial review. Second, the panel’s ruling related only to the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Breyer, but leaves open the possibility of a different result on a factual record developed on the preliminary injunction hearing—including the possibility that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act. Finally, the ruling is subject to review by the Ninth Circuit in an en banc hearing and by the US Supreme Court.
[Robert B. Hubbell newsletter]
