Another View: ‘No Kings’ protesters rain on Trump’s military parade

President Donald Trump wants a war.

If he can’t get a trade war with Canada or China or all of Europe, he’ll settle for a war on democracy by deploying troops on American soil to punish peaceful protesters.

And, as if that was not enough, Trump was determined to waste taxpayer money on a jingoistic military parade, like the ones you might see in China, Russia or North Korea, that coincided with Flag Day and the president’s 79th birthday.

“For two and a half centuries, the men and women of America’s Army have dominated our enemies and protected our freedom at home,” Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social in early June.

“This parade salutes our soldiers’ remarkable strength and unbeatable spirit. You won’t want to miss it. Just don’t miss this one. It’s going to be good.”

Never mind that 60% of Americans said the parade is “not a good use” of government money according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Personally, I’d like to see the poll of Americans who disapprove of Trump’s birthday.

Some estimates put the parade price tag at $45 million.

A military parade? On his birthday? Why can’t he just get a cake and blow out some candles like the rest of us?

It turns out that Trump’s parade wasn’t his worst use of the military. That was reserved for the commander in chief’s crackdown on demonstrators protesting his stepped-up enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Earlier this month, Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city, to help control the demonstrations

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, convinced a federal judge to stop Trump’s troop takeover. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump’s L.A. troop deployment violated the Constitution’s 10th Amendment protecting state sovereignty, and exceeded his statutory authority.

“We’re talking about the president exercising his authority, and the president is of course limited in that authority,” Breyer said. “That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George.”

But an appeals court blocked Breyer’s ruling, allowing the troops to stay in place — for now.

The troop presence added to the urgency for a series of planned “No Kings” rallies in cities across America to counter the military parade and the California crackdown.

Major protests were planned in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The deployment showdown also led to one of the state’s most despicable standoffs.

Among those defending Trump’s use of the National Guard was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Noem, at a news conference, was speaking about liberating Los Angeles “from the socialists and the burdensome leadership this governor and mayor have placed on this country and this city” when she got a question from someone who was not a reporter.

Moments later, the man asking the question, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was pushed out of the room, shoved to the floor and placed in handcuffs by federal agents.

“If that’s what they do to a United States senator with a question, imagine what they do to farmworkers, day laborers, cooks and the other nonviolent immigrants they are targeting in California and across the country. Or any American that dares to speak up,” Padilla, 52, later said in a post on social media.

“I will not stop fighting to demand accountability on behalf of the people of California.”

The White House, of course, said Padilla was to blame for the dustup.

Of course he was. His name is Alejandro Padilla.

If his name were Sen. Whiteguy, there wouldn’t have even been an issue.

Leonard Greene is a columnist for the New York Daily News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.