Donald Trump Jr has attempted to make light of the ongoing tensions in Los Angeles by calling for the city to “Make Rooftop Koreans Great Again!”
Donald Trump’s eldest son posted a meme on X of a Korean-American business owner inspecting a rifle on a rooftop in reference to the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which erupted in response to the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers caught on video beating Black motorist Rodney King.
The angry scenes that ensued saw some members of the local Asian diaspora take up arms to defend their businesses from looters and vandals.
The Korean-Americans who took action to safeguard their livelihoods were both applauded as symbols of self-reliance and condemned for risking exacerbating existing racial animosity in their neighborhoods.
Don Jr’s post comes after protesters again took to the streets of the California city over the weekend to rail against his father’s crackdown on illegal immigration, scenes that began on Friday when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents met with opposition from the public as they attempted to arrest alleged undocumented migrants living locally.
The mass resistance saw vehicles set alight as protesters threw fireworks towards armed law enforcement officers, held aloft placards bearing hostile slogans and shouted “Shame on you!”
Officers in riot gear responded by firing tear gas and flash grenades to attempt to disperse the crowds.
ICE operations across Los Angeles County have so far resulted in the arrests of 118 accused illegal immigrants despite the clashes, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
President Trump responded to the situation by federalizing the California National Guard on Saturday, a step that was immediately condemned as “unlawful” by the state’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the move was unnecessary as there were enough LAPD officers on the streets to control the demonstrations.
Newsom accused Trump of attempting to “manufacture a crisis” to distract from his other domestic controversies and of violating California’s state sovereignty.
“These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,” he added.
Newsom has since sued the administration and challenged Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to arrest him, writing on X on Sunday: “Come and get me, tough guy. I don’t give a damn. It won’t stop me from standing up for California.”
Trump hit back at him on Truth Social, declaring: “Governor Gavin Newscum and ‘Mayor’ [Karen] Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots.
“These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists. Remember, NO MASKS!”
More than 2,000 members of the state National Guard duly arrived in the city on Sunday to assist the LAPD in maintaining order.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has meanwhile threatened to send in the Marines if the chaos continues.
At least 10 protesters were arrested on Sunday, following on from the 29 taken into custody on Saturday.
