“Donald Trump Is Misreading the Room”: Ex-White House Aide Warns Crackdown on Protesters Could Backfire

Former Trump White House aide Alyssa Farah Griffin is sounding the alarm over what she describes as a dangerously heavy-handed response by President Donald Trump to peaceful protests. Speaking on CNN News Central Friday morning, Griffin criticized Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles and the controversial removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“Listen, the first words in that video that we see out of Sen. Padilla’s mouth is, ‘I am an American, a U.S. senator,’ so he made that abundantly clear,” Griffin said. “And still they used such a degree of force. I think it’s incredibly chilling.

This is a man who got 6 million votes, he represents nearly 40 million Californians, where these [immigration] raids, by the way, are taking place, and he has an oversight role in the Senate over immigration and the Department of Homeland Security, so I think it’s a very chilling moment. Some Republican senators have criticized it, as well.”

Griffin argued that Trump’s pattern of cracking down on dissent is not only alarming but politically misguided. “I think it speaks to the fact that Donald Trump’s been very clear, any form of protest he is going to respond to,” she said.

She also pointed to a planned military parade commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, expressing concern about the potential for aggressive responses to demonstrators.

Griffin warned that suppressing peaceful protests with force would likely alienate voters rather than rally support. “Donald Trump is misreading the room,” she said.

“If he thinks that Americans want to see a clash between armed National Guard and U.S. protesters who are assembling, that’s just not something that Americans want to see.

There’s a way to do crowd control, there’s a way to do anti-riot responses with police officers that is not bullying up people who are demonstrating their First Amendment right to protest.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming commemorative events, Griffin added, “There’s going to be all eyes on tomorrow’s events and really hopeful that it stays peaceful. But he’s certainly conveying that he will tolerate no protesting.”

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