John Brennan, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism during the second Obama administration, spoke on MSNBC about the immigration protests in Los Angeles and President Donald Trump‘s decision to send in the military including National Guardsmen and at least 700 Marines without the approval of Governor Gavin Newsom.
A longtime critic of Trump, Brennan said of the President: “Nothing seems to be going well for Trump on his main policy agenda whether it be on the economy, or the budget, or trade or tariffs, the Ukraine, and Gaza, or China…so what I think his tactic is…since there’s no positive motion on these fronts, is to cause commotion on the domestic front, and to appeal to his very nativist MAGA base and to also spark a confrontation and provoke a confrontation with the Democratic Governor and Mayor of Los Angeles.”
former Director Brenner just
nailed it
“Because nothing is going right with his agenda on so many levels , be it trade, the economy, the budget, tariffs, Ukraine, Russia, China …… so since there is no positive motion on these fronts, let’s **cause commotion on the domestic… pic.twitter.com/YezK9efEqj
— CathyNotToday2
(@Cathy2NotToday) June 9, 2025
From his home in Los Angeles, Brennan added: “I believe the mobilizing of these Marines — I think he’s poised to do further damage and to provoke greater conflict.”
Part 2
He’s desperate to appeal to his base so by adding the 700 marines, he’s further escalating the situation that he already inflamed with the federalization of the national guard that in turn escalated the situation pic.twitter.com/Y7DZ5tQke1
— CathyNotToday2
Note: During his first administration, in 2018, Trump announced that he had revoked Brennan’s security clearance. Then-White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that taking away Brennan’s security clearance was not an attempt to silence the President’s critics, but reportedly “had no readily available answer when asked why former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who has admitted to lying to the FBI, still maintains his security clearance.”
Brennan said at the time: “My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent.”
If Trump, as Brennan suggests, is mobilizing the military as a distraction offered as red meat to his MAGA base, the strategy seems to be working. MAGA media personalities like Steve Bannon are praising the President’s “strength” and mainstream media is being forced to cover the events — and the face-off between Trump and Newsom.
Bannon told his podcast audience this week: “The deep state that run this country want us to blink, want us to back down. This is why President Trump continues to double down. But unlike 2020, we got to deliver the goods here in the summer of love. It just can’t be tweets and talk. It’s got to be action.”
Newsom has responded by accusing Trump of exacerbating the situation by sending troops, which he did not request, and provoking conflict. Newsom said that before Trump’s mobilization move “local law enforcement had no needs — they were not requesting any additional resources. I’ve got a hundred now. I’ve got 175 CHP officers, technically trained officers, tactical teams, to address Donald Trump’s mess.”