Morning Brief: Trump Sends National Guard To L.A. & Trump-Musk Feud Continues

President Donald Trump deploys the National Guard to quell chaos in Los Angeles, the Trump-Musk feud continues, and gymnast Simone Biles calls out Riley Gaines over her stance on men competing in women’s sports.

It’s Monday, June 9, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.

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National Guard Deployed To L.A. To Control Anti-ICE Riots

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Topline: President Trump sends the National Guard to Los Angeles amid violent anti-ICE riots.

Chaos erupted over the weekend in the Los Angeles area as some anti-ICE protesters turned violent after false claims that ICE had conducted a “raid” on a Home Depot in the city of Paramount had circulated after a Home Depot in L.A. had been raided on Friday. To quell the riots, President Trump mobilized and deployed some 2000 members of the National Guard.

By Sunday, things spiraled even further out of control, with hordes of protesters blocking interstates, burning cars, and injuring law enforcement officers. In response, Northern Command said it was ready to send in 500 Marines to help keep the peace. But LA’s Democratic Mayor Karen Bass said federal authorities are making things worse – and that Trump is responsible for the widespread unrest.

“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” Bass said. “When you raid Home Depot and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you cause fear and you cause panic. And deploying federalized troops is a dangerous escalation… I call on all Angelenos to continue expressing your right, your anger, your outrage. But to do it peacefully.”

Dozens of people have been detained throughout the protests, and at least two law enforcement officers have been injured, according to a report from CBS.

“There were times when things were out of control in this situation and the local law enforcement didn’t have a total handle on what was going on,” Elex Michaelson, an anchor at FOX News’s L.A. affiliate, told The Daily Wire on Sunday. “My own colleague on Fox 11, Matthew Seedorf and his photographer, Sam Dubin, were out reporting in Paramount and their vehicle, their news vehicle was destroyed with people punching out the windows – spray-painting “F*** ICE” on it, slashing the tires, stealing stuff from their vehicle – as they were out doing their job. So that’s an example of criminals taking advantage of a situation and creating chaos.”

Trump Vs Musk Part 2: Midterm Boogaloo

(Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Topline: After their public falling out last week, Trump is warning Elon Musk to stay out of the midterm elections as the president pushes forward on the passage of his signature budget bill. 

Elon Musk, who once said he “loved Trump as much as a straight man can love another man,” continued to slam the president over the weekend. While he has deleted some of his most inflammatory remarks on X, including an allegation that Trump was covering up Jeffrey Epstein’s client list to protect himself, he has put out new statements that have drawn more attention to the rift. Musk tweeted Friday that he would “apologize profusely as soon as there is a full dump of the Epstein files.”

Trump responded by calling Musk “the man who has lost his mind” — according to a report from CNN the president asked his aides if the outburst could be related to alleged drug use on Musk’s part, although publicly he has said, “I don’t want to comment on his drug use. I don’t know.. [The New York Times report on the subject] sounded very unfair.”

Apart from personal digs, Musk could pose a more substantial risk to Trump’s electoral prospects. Writing on X, the billionaire asked his followers if it was “time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle.” After his audience responded favorably, Musk said it was “fate” and that he would name it the “America Party.” Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars during the 2024 election cycle, and third-party candidates with his backing could potentially act as spoilers in key races, jeopardizing the Republicans’ narrow majority.

That has gotten Trump’s attention. Speaking to ABC News, the president said Elon will “have to pay very serious consequences” if he funds challenges against Republicans in 2026. 

Allies of both men have publicly and privately called on them to reconcile, but as of now, they remain at odds. President Trump said there was “no reason to” repair the relationship, which he “assumed” was over. However, stranger things have happened – Trump’s current vice president, JD Vance, was once a “never Trumper” who compared the president to Adolf Hitler years before he became one of his supporters.

Women’s Sports Spat Gets Personal

(Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)

Topline: An online debate has erupted between Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines over the question of transgender-identifying athletes competing in women’s sports.

The controversy began when Gaines, a vocal critic of transgender-identifying male athletes competing against women and girls, commented on a social media post from the Minnesota State High School League. The post celebrated Champlin Park High School’s girls’ softball state championship win. However, the team’s star pitcher is a boy who identifies as a girl – and he pitched a shutout in the 6-0 victory. Gaines noted that the team turned its comments off, posting on social media: “To be expected when your star player is a boy.”

Biles weighed in by calling Gaines “truly sick” and a “sore loser,” and she accused Gaines of bullying. But then, despite being known for supporting the “body positivity” movement, she mocked Gaines’ physique, telling Gaines to “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.” Gaines is 5’5″, around average height for a woman.

Interestingly, though, some X users dug up an old post from Biles in which she acknowledged men’s innate physical advantages over women. In 2017, she wrote, “Good thing guys don’t compete against girls or he’d take all the gold medals!!” Gaines also noted Biles and other gymnasts suffered under Larry Nassar, suggesting that the same system that failed them then is now negatively impacting female athletes by putting them in vulnerable positions, like allowing men in their locker rooms.

Both women have received their fair share of support online. With the support for Gaines, there’s a building outcry now for brands like Athleta to drop Biles as an ambassador for female athletes. On the flip side, legacy media and many left-wing pundits voice their support for Biles. There were a number of op-eds, including one from USA Today, cheering her as a hero.

Politically, however, this issue puts Democrats between a rock and a hard place. Many of those fervent and vocal supporters, including celebrities like Biles, are deeply committed to gender ideology and allowing trans-identifying men into women’s sports and women’s spaces. The overwhelming majority disagree – a February 2025 New York Times/Ipsos poll, for example, found that about 80% of respondents believe biological males should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports, including 67% of Democrats and 64% of independents.