PBS News Hour

GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

Amna Nawaz is away.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: California sues the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard as protests against immigration raids turn violent.

A look at how the Trump administration is filling critical roles with people with alleged extremist ties.

JACOB WARE, Council on Foreign Relations: The message is that loyalty trumps, expertise.

Loyalty trumps serious policy.

It trumps national security.

GEOFF BENNETT: And Broadway celebrates a banner year for theater at its annual Tony Awards.

(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Protests again immigration raids in Los Angeles entered their fourth day after a chaotic weekend.

President Trump deployed the National Guard to put down demonstrations, over the objections of state and local officials.

And late today, 700 active-duty U.S. Marines have also been deployed.

They're expected to arrive in the next 24 hours.

Law enforcement has made dozens of arrests.

And the events are sparking a debate about state versus federal authority.

Lisa Desjardins starts our coverage.

LISA DESJARDINS: Today in parts of Los Angeles, cleanup, a forced calm, and in one part a crowd of protesters outside the facility holding union leader David Huerta charged with obstructing police during an ICE raid last week, this after a tumultuous weekend when thousands of people flooded the downtown.

Some blocked off a major highway, set fire to driverless cars and threw rocks at police officers, while police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, flashbangs and arrests.

L.A. police have declared all of downtown an unlawful assembly area.

And the debate over the response rages.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Some of the things you're reading about in Los Angeles, thank goodness we sent out some wonderful National Guard.

LISA DESJARDINS: At the White House today, Trump pointed without proof at what he called paid agitators and insurrectionists.

And multiple outlets report Trump is going further, temporarily deploying active-duty troops, Marines, to Los Angeles without invoking the Insurrection Act that other presidents have cited for such a rare move.

That would be an unprecedented step.

As a result, California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom faces two tests, protecting his largest city from upheaval and confronting Trump.

Today, California sued the president, calling the National Guard order unconstitutional and immoral.

Trump has said he is open to arresting Newsom.

Last night, the governor responded.

GOV.

GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Come after me.

Arrest me.

Let's just get it over with.

LISA DESJARDINS: For his part, President Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, said there's no plan to arrest Newsom.

He defended federal actions.

TOM HOMAN, White House Border Czar: The men and women of ICE, the men and women of the Border Patrol made L.A. safer that day, but you're not hearing any of this.

All you hear is a rhetoric about ICE being racists and ICE being Nazis and terrorists.

And Governor Newsom some feeds that.

LISA DESJARDINS: This all was sparked Friday after a series of immigration raids by federal agents clad in camouflage as part of President Trump's mass deportation campaign.

Protesters surrounded a federal detention facility in downtown L.A., where police clashed with them.

On Saturday, more protests erupted in L.A., spreading to the towns of Paramount and Compton, amid reports of immigration raids there.

That was the day Trump ordered the National Guard deployment.

Also Saturday, the FBI said an officer was hit by a rock.

They are still searching for the suspect.

At the same time, video showed vast groups of nonviolent protesters, some practicing civil disobedience, like these Sunday afternoon, who marched onto a portion of the highway, stopping traffic.

PROTESTER: This is us saying you can't do this.

We won't let you separate children from their families.

And we're going to fight back.

LISA DESJARDINS: Police in L.A. eventually forced protesters off the highway, but things were no longer peaceful, driverless cars set aflame and people threw rocks at patrol cars.

Officers took shelter underneath an overpass.

Others in the crowd also shot fireworks.

Police fired flashbangs.

Last night, L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell condemned the violence.

JIM MCDONNELL, Los Angeles, California, Police Chief: This violence that I have seen is disgusting.

It's escalated now since the beginning of this incident.

What we saw the first night was bad.

What we have seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent.

Tonight, we had individuals out there shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers.

That can kill you.

LISA DESJARDINS: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed President Trump for escalating the situation.

KAREN BASS (D), Mayor of Los Angeles, California: What we're seeing in L.A. is chaos caused by the administration.

People should exercise their right to protest.

That's their First Amendment right.

But people should also exercise that right peacefully.

We do not want to play into the administration's hands.

LISA DESJARDINS: Trump's National Guard order means Newsom cannot use the troops for law enforcement.

Rachel VanLandingham is a retired Air Force officer and former chief of international law at U.S. Central Command.

She says this is unprecedented.

LT. COL. RACHEL VANLANDINGHAM (RET.

), Southwestern Law School: We have had the president federalize National Guard troops before and put them under the command and control of the president.

But typically it's been done at the request of governors.

Governors normally command their own National Guard troops.

LISA DESJARDINS: In all, more than 1,000 National Guard members are deployed in Los Angeles so far.

VanLandingham says the law here favors the president.

LT. COL. RACHEL VANLANDINGHAM (RET.

): The bigger legal basis of the statute, I think, is clearly within the president's discretion, except for the context of it being the orders did not flow through the governor.

LISA DESJARDINS: In the meantime, federal officials say they have no plans to stop immigration raids in the Los Angeles area this week, with the National Guard standing by.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.

GEOFF BENNETT: For a closer look, we're joined now by Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

She's now at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Juliette, it's great to have you here.

So, historically, presidents, as we just heard, they federalized the National Guard at a governor's request during a time of crisis, like after Hurricane Katrina, or to enforce court orders, as was the case in Little Rock back in 1957 to enforce integration.

What happened over the weekend is without precedent, the president deploying the Guard over the governor's objection.

What are the implications?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary: Well, they are huge.

I mean, there's really no -- there's not only no precedent to this.

There's no sort of check on it.

We don't know, if this is the standard if what happened in L.A. is the standard now for federalizing the National Guard and deployment of active military.

The Trump administration has so lowered the floor and the distinction between civil and military actions, that they appear now to be one and the same.

It's important to remember there's two distinct issues here, and I'm not even going to talk about immigration.

The first is, what are the standards for deployment of a federalized National Guard?

To just put it in context, the last time this was done, as you said, the governors, both -- in both instances, the governors wanted it -- was 1992, the L.A. riots.

By then, by the time that they were called, over 60 people had died, had been killed in a city that was literally on fire everywhere throughout Los Angeles.

And then again in 2005, with Hurricane Katrina response, by then 1,400 Americans were dead.

There is protests.

There is violent protests in L.A.

There are cars on fire.

There's name-calling.

There's agitation.

But there is nothing that satisfies the standards that we saw in '92 and 2005.

The second thing I want to say is the deployment of active military into a very complicated web of first responders who are training and working together all the time is not always beneficial.

And there's a lot of challenges in terms of the introduction of a militarized force into civilian law enforcement, firefighters, emergency managers.

And in the past, it has not worked very well.

GEOFF BENNETT: I want to ask you more about the Marine deployment in a moment.

But, first, for the National Guard, practically, does the National Guard operate differently, whether it's under state or federal leadership?

I mean, what does that mean for command and control?

JULIETTE KAYYEM: Yes, so National Guard, just think of it as dual-hatted.

So, the same person -- I'm in the National Guard.

So, under state National Guard, I report to my governor.

The president, as he did on Saturday, then could federalize me, essentially under Title 10.

I now report to any command that president is going to give me, regardless of what I have been trained to, my understanding of the community, my integration into the community.

That's the beauty of state National Guards is that they're us.

I mean, they're here.

They're not off at some camp in another state.

They understand the communities.

They understand the geography.

So, for example, in 1992 with the L.A. riots, the state National Guard were also deployed.

That was viewed as pretty successful, although delayed and complicated.

They did things like help with traffic control, protect buildings, as we're talking about, support law enforcement in terms of just giving them sort of a little bit of bandwidth, given where the riots were.

They helped protect shopping malls.

That's the kind of thing that you want your sort of -- your local military asset to do under the president.

They can do almost anything under Title 10, except, under the Posse Comitatus act, they cannot serve in a law enforcement function.

In other words, ICE would still need to come in and deport people.

But unless you have trained for that, unless you know what the rules of engagement are, I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in the military understanding that distinction under this president.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, late today, we learned that 700 Marines in California from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, they have been ordered to assist in Los Angeles.

They're expected to arrive within 24 hours.

The big question now, among many, is whether President Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act, which would give these troops the ability to directly participate in civil law enforcement.

And this was the thing, Juliette, as you well know, that many Trump officials during the first term were pushing back against because it sets up potentially volatile interactions between U.S. troops and civilians on U.S. soil.

What questions does this raise?

JULIETTE KAYYEM: That's right.

They also -- U.S. troops against first responders.

I mean, look, if people want to complain about the rioters or the paid rioters or the outside agitators, sure, you now -- we will now have active military on the streets with a mission we don't know, under legal authority that has not yet been invoked yet, with no training, no communication capacity with the other first responders, and no clear chain of command that integrates into what's already been built.

And let's just -- I want to say this again, and out in the street operationally not necessary.

I mean, this is -- we're not at the kind of crisis that the president and Secretary Hegseth and Homan, who talked about essentially mean language towards ICE officials.

So this is a second shoe to drop within 48 hours.

And I will say we have never seen this before.

I don't care what you think about immigration or immigration enforcement.

This is a different play, and the floor has fallen if President Trump does this.

GEOFF BENNETT: Juliette Kayyem, thank you for your time and for your perspective this evening.

We appreciate it.

JULIETTE KAYYEM: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: And now we get two perspectives, starting with Democratic Congresswoman Norma Torres, who represents part of Southern California.

I spoke with her earlier today.

Congresswoman Torres, thank you for being with us.

What specifically triggered the wave of public outrage that has led to days of protests, in some places riots?

What has been building up?

REP. NORMA TORRES (D-CA): What has been building up is the fact that Donald Trump has sent ICE agents armed to the teeth with face coverings in unmarked vehicles raiding communities indiscriminately, targeting Latinos, arresting them, and failing to provide due process, not carrying warrants.

And when members of Congress like myself have presented ourselves at the ICE holding locations, they have refused to allow us to come in.

They have refused to brief us on what their actions have been, how many officers have been involved, local officers, and how many injuries have we had, and to really have any oversight over what they are doing.

Look, I have visited that location in the past.

The max capacity for that location is 100 people.

And we are receiving reports that they - - there were probably close to 1,000 people being detained during the time that we were there.

So that makes sense to me that they refused us entry because they did not want us to see the conditions that these humans were being held in.

GEOFF BENNETT: Now, ICE says it's targeting people with final deportation orders, people who have exhausted the range of legal options available to them.

Some 1.5 million undocumented immigrants fall into that category in this country.

If we're a nation of laws, why shouldn't federal agents enforce those court orders?

REP. NORMA TORRES: If that was true, they would come in with a warrant.

If that was true, they would have an actual name, and they would be asking people for their identification.

They would not be breaking car windows and they would not be raiding places of employment, school graduations, or standing in front of elementary schools demanding to be allowed in to arrest children.

GEOFF BENNETT: We have witnessed some disturbing scenes, protesters throwing rocks at police, setting off commercial-grade fireworks near law enforcement, even torching self-driving cars.

So far as you know, who are these rioters?

Are they part of the broader protest movement or something more fringe and opportunistic?

REP. NORMA TORRES: They are not part of the movement that has been a peaceful movement of immigrants and their neighbors, their supporters trying to have their voices heard.

The city of Los Angeles is very diverse with many groups, with many different agendas.

And the people that understand these groups best are the local police department, the LAPD and the local leaders.

That is why we cannot get ahead of them.

And that is why we need to allow them the time to have -- to exercise oversight over what is happening and take control of the situation.

But this cannot happen while ICE continues to unleash this terror on our communities.

GEOFF BENNETT: Lastly, Congresswoman, you're facing some criticism from conservatives for the social media post where you called out ICE agents.

REP. NORMA TORRES: ICE, get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of L.A. so that order can be restored.

GEOFF BENNETT: Does language like that coming from a sitting member of Congress, does that risk escalating tensions at this already volatile moment?

REP. NORMA TORRES: Absolutely not, any more than language like just grab them by the P-word.

Guess what, America?

We have become the P-word.

GEOFF BENNETT: Congresswoman Norma Torres, thank you for joining us this evening.

REP. NORMA TORRES: Thank you.

Nice talking to you, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: And for another view, we turn now to Kathryn Barger, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

She's a Republican who represents L.A.'s Fifth District.

That's the county's largest.

Thank you for being with us.

KATHRYN BARGER, Los Angeles County, California, Board of Supervisors: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: So President Trump's move to federalize the National Guard, we have now got 700 U.S. Marines who are on standby, this represents a use of federal military authority not seen in some six decades.

Do you believe that this was a justified move to restore order?

KATHRYN BARGER: Well, early on, in -- my understanding is, the reason why the president and Homan brought in the National Guard was because they felt that the ICE agents were not being protected.

And, clearly, there were issues early on.

This is law enforcement.

These are all people that have taken an oath to protect - - in the case of LAPD, protect the public, but also protect their fellow officers.

And that was why initially it went on.

Listen, this is getting -- this is truly getting out of control as it relates to the finger-pointing and all that.

The bottom line is, is, there's no coordination.

And that's my frustration, is that there's no communication between the state and the federal government, because the state has a law that they cannot work with ICE.

This is what happens when you don't communicate.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, how do you define that boundary between federal power and state sovereignty in the context of immigration?

KATHRYN BARGER: Well, listen, I'm all for state sovereignty.

And I feel the governor's frustration by bringing in the National Guard who are not coordinating with local officials.

There has to be coordination.

Otherwise, you get chaos.

And that's what we saw last night, which is totally unacceptable.

And I respectfully disagree with all the leaders that think that using profanity and flaming the flame -- flaming the fires is going to help the situation.

We as public officials need to stand tall, recognize that peaceful protest is allowed and actually should be done.

But when it escalates to where it did last night, it's crossed the line.

When I see the graffiti that is on the state buildings and the profanity and the "Kill the police," meanwhile, I have got a sheriff's deputy who was shot over the weekend of in the (AUDIO GAP) valley who's sitting in a hospital.

This is absolutely unacceptable to take on law enforcement in this way and not have their backs, including ICE.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

Do you find the way that ICE is conducting these immigration raids, using unmarked vehicles, wearing full face masks, in some cases not carrying warrants, not providing due process to the people who are detained, is that an appropriate way to enforce federal immigration law?

KATHRYN BARGER: So, we need to flush out the facts, because I am told that in fact they did have warrants.

And so I think it's important for us all to get the facts.

And that's where transparency comes into play, because, obviously, I don't condone going on -- into a school under the guise of checking to round up children.

I think that's totally inappropriate.

But, at the same time, I'm being told that, in fact, ICE did warrants have and were going in specifically for individuals that, quite frankly, don't belong in this country.

GEOFF BENNETT: Where does L.A. County head next after all this, in your view?

KATHRYN BARGER: Well, L.A. County, we are the umbrella with -- we have 88 cities under our jurisdiction.

L.A. City is one of them.

Obviously, Mayor Bass is very, very, very involved in this, working with the governor.

We have our Office of Emergency Management that stands ready to assist in any way possible.

There's mutual aid taking place between the sheriff and LAPD.

I'm hoping that people can take a step back, stop tweeting and actually pick up the phone, talk.

You can agree to disagree, but they end the day, what's happening on our streets is totally unacceptable.

And these are anarchists.

These are not peaceful protesters.

These are people that are taking advantage of the situation, looting, looting downtown, looting businesses that, quite frankly, are literally just trying to get by each day.

And I find it highly, highly, highly inappropriate.

And as a local leader, I'm not going to buy into all this rhetoric.

I will work with the feds and I will work with the state, but I recognize there are some of the issues that the state's put into play that have basically put us in the situation, including laws that do not allow us to work with the federal government, with ICE, which to me is a disservice to the men and women that work for ICE, because it's putting them in a situation of what you're seeing.

They have to mask themselves because there's people that are doxxing them.

And I find it fascinating that we talk about the ICE that are masked, but one talks about the protesters.

GEOFF BENNETT: Kathryn Barger, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, thank you so much for your insights and for your time this evening.

KATHRYN BARGER: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: And we should mention that we asked for interviews with the Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, and the U.S. attorney for Central California.

That includes Los Angeles County.

Our requests for interviews were turned down.

We start the day's other headlines in the Middle East.

An aid boat headed for Gaza has arrived in Israel after Israeli forces boarded that vessel and detained the activists on board, including climate advocate Greta Thunberg.

WOMAN: Add it to the long list of war crimes that Israel has been committing.

MAN: We are being intercepted right now.

GEOFF BENNETT: Israel's action was part of its longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory.

A legal rights group says the activists are expected to be held at a detention facility until they are deported.

Israel's Foreign Ministry dismissed the voyage on social media, calling it the selfie yacht of celebrities, and said it would distribute the boat's aid through established channels.

Meantime, in Gaza, Palestinian health officials say gunfire killed 14 people as they were heading to an aid center.

Witnesses say the gunmen appeared to be allied with the Israeli military.

It's the latest in a series of shootings that have killed more than 100 people since the rollout of new food distribution locations last month.

BASIL AL-ATTAR, Victim's Uncle (through translator): They open aid sites for people, and then they kill them there.

We don't want aid.

We don't want anything.

We'd rather be killed and be done with this whole thing.

We are fed up with this life.

He was not there to resist or to launch missiles.

He went to get flour.

GEOFF BENNETT: Israel's military has not commented on the latest shooting.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the sites, says there has been no violence in or near the aid distribution centers themselves.

Ukraine says that Russia launched nearly 500 drones and missiles overnight, the biggest such attack in their three-year war.

The Ukrainian Air Force claims to have shot down more than half of the drones and says only a handful reached their targets.

Russia has intensified its strikes since Ukraine's surprise drone attack on Russian air bases earlier this month.

Elsewhere, Russia and Ukraine carried out the first stage of their latest prisoner swap.

It was agreed to during talks in Istanbul last week that otherwise failed to produce any progress toward a cease-fire.

Delegations from the U.S. and China are meeting in London to try to resolve their ongoing trade dispute.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with China's vice premier in the first of what could be two days of talks.

They were joined by us Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and their Chinese counterparts.

The negotiations at London's Lancaster House come after the world's two biggest economies agreed to a 90-day suspension of many of the highest tariffs last month.

But, still, new data shows that China's exports to the U.S. fell by 35 percent in May from a year earlier.

President Trump's new travel ban barring citizens of a dozen countries from entering the U.S. took effect this morning.

The order restricts nationals from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries from entering the country and adds partial travel restrictions on people from seven other countries who don't hold a valid visa.

There were no major delays reported at the nation's airports today as a result of the ban nor any significant protests.

That's unlike when Mr. Trump instituted a similar ban during his first term that barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, which resulted in chaos and protests at several airports.

Dozens of scientists at the National Institutes of Health issued a rare public criticism of the Trump administration's public health policies today.

In a four-page letter, around 90 staffers wrote -- quote -- "We dissent to administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe."

The letter was addressed to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and addresses the termination of some 2,100 research grants worth more than $12 billion.

In response, Bhattacharya said the letter contained what he called some fundamental misconceptions about the direction of the agency.

Separately, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said today he's removing every member of a scientific panel that advises the CDC on how to use vaccines.

He's pledging to replace them with his own selections.

Kennedy recently changed CDC recommendations for COVID-19 shots without consulting the 17-member panel.

Warner Bros.

Discovery is splitting into two companies as it tries to adjust to how people consume TV and movies.

One side will focus on streaming with HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros. television and movies, plus D.C. Studios, falling under one umbrella.

The other company will focus on cable and will include CNN, Discovery, TNT Sports in the U.S., plus digital products like Bleacher Report.

Today's announcement follows a similar move by Comcast, which said last November that it plans to spin off its cable networks, including MSNBC, into a separate publicly traded company.

A judge in New York dismissed a $400 million lawsuit today from actor and director Justin Baldoni against actress Blake Lively.

It's the latest development in a long-running legal feud stemming from their film "It Ends With Us."

Lively sued Baldoni last December for sexual harassment and retaliation.

He then sued her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and extortion.

The judge said today that Baldoni couldn't sue lively for defamation because allegations made in a lawsuit are exempt from libel.

Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni is ongoing.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended little changed, as traders looked for clues from those U.S.-China trade talks.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost just a single point, so basically flat.

The Nasdaq added around 60 points on the day.

The S&P 500 also ended virtually unchanged.

And a passing of note.

Funk legend Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone died.

He was the creative powerhouse behind hits like "Everyday People" and one of the most prominent musicians of the 1960s and early '70s.

As a singer, songwriter, and producer who played multiple instruments, Stone drove the band's unique sound, which covered everything from dance tracks to unifying anthems.

Their music influenced generations of funk, soul, and rock musicians and fans.

His family says Stone died after a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

Sly Stone was 82 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political headlines; and comedian Sarah Silverman gives her Brief But Spectacular take on grief and humor.

The first few months of President Trump's second term, including some selections for key jobs in his administration, have sparked new questions about his complicated history with elevating extremist views.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, takes a closer look.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: President Trump has a long history of amplifying messages and figures embraced by white supremacists and other domestic extremists, from spreading birther conspiracy theories about former President Obama's citizenship, to lying about the outcome of the 2020 election, to pardoning the rioters who violently stormed the Capitol in 2021.

Now, in his second term, he's doubled down, staffing key positions with people who have spread racist conspiracies and defended January 6 insurrectionists who assaulted police.

Joining me now to discuss is Jacob Ware.

He's a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations studying domestic terrorism and counterterrorism.

Jacob, thank you so much for being here.

JACOB WARE, Council on Foreign Relations: Thank you.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Let's start with how the president's second term compares to his first term, specifically when it comes to who he is elevating in his administration and the ideological views that they promote and they're known for.

How would you compare the two terms?

JACOB WARE: Well, I think we had an expression during the first term.

We said there were adults in the room, serious, long-term professionals in national security and other fields who staffed the administration and who kept the trains on the tracks.

This time, there are far fewer of those individuals.

And I think that's encapsulated actually in the January 6 legacy, where this time President Trump basically has surrounded himself with people who either believe or are willing to lie to him in saying that the January 6 election riot was legitimate, was legal, and that the election was stolen.

So, immediately, you have people who cannot look at a truth and see it for what it is, that he lost that election.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: President Trump has come under criticism for appointing several people who have shared extremist views.

Those include Ed Martin, the president's pardon attorney, who previously defended January 6 rioters and praised a Nazi sympathizer, Paul Ingrassia, a former podcast host with a history of racist comments who also said that January 6 should be a national holiday.

He's going to now lead the Office of Special Counsel.

What message does it send that the administration is further embracing people who have ties to or who have spread extremist views?

JACOB WARE: I think the message is that loyalty trumps expertise.

Loyalty trumps serious policy.

It trumps national security.

It's more important for somebody to be loyal to Trump, loyal to the MAGA doctrine than to be a serious professional who's going to implement and make hard choices in our national security space.

Of course, one of the individuals you mentioned, according to your reporting, Laura, Paul Ingrassia, has said that descendants of slaves should be paying slave owners reparations.

I mean, that is an overtly racist statement, and this is somebody who's leading the Office of Special Counsel.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The president has also embraced figures and symbols that perpetuate antisemitism in some cases, including he posted a meme on social media recently that features Pepe the Frog, a symbol of white supremacist movements.

And the president previously dined with white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

And his Bedminster club hosted Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who prosecutors called a Nazi sympathizer and who has a history of antisemitic rants.

The president says that his attacks on universities, that his restrictions that he's placing on universities like Harvard are in the name of combating antisemitism.

But does this track record show the opposite?

JACOB WARE: Well, actually, Laura, this is something that does go back to the first administration, the place where we saw this rapprochement between Trump and the violent far right.

The first time we saw that was at Charlottesville, where a white supremacist attack happened on behalf of an overtly neo-Nazi cause with people who were there as overt neo-Nazis.

And he, of course, said there were very fine people on both sides.

Years later, he told the Proud Boys during a presidential debate to stand back and stand by.

So President Trump has repeatedly, during his time in office, appealed to not just people who have what you might call far right ideology or views, but even people who are willing to act out in violence on behalf of those views.

What is less clear to me is whether President Trump shares these memes, these ideas deliberately, whether it's a dog whistle, whether it's unknown.

But either way, it's clearly a message being sent to the far right, whether overt or covert, that they have a defender in the White House.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Trump's pardon attorney, Ed Martin, is now weighing whether or not to pardon Stewart Rhodes, who is the founder of the far right militia group Oath Keepers.

Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy after the January 6 attack at the Capitol.

And Martin has also recently suggested that he's looking to pardon the men convicted of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

ED MARTIN, U.S.

Pardon Attorney: On the pardon front, we can't leave these guys behind.

In my opinion, these are victims just like January 6.

And so we are processing that.

And I have complete confidence that we're going to get a hard look at it and the president will want to know the facts about it, want to see the relationship.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: You talked about signals being sent from this White House.

What signal does it send?

JACOB WARE: Well, the weaponization of the pardon power, the abuse of the pardon power, I think is one of the great concerns of this administration so far, because, again, it's not just symbolizing that these ideologies are welcome.

The January 6 defendants and the Gretchen Whitmer plot defendants, they were not prosecuted for their ideologies.

They were prosecuted for violent plots that were either planned or carried out.

So, again, the message is not necessarily that your ideologies, your hatred of the Democratic Party or of government is legitimized.

It's that violence on behalf of those ideologies is legal.

The historical record, I fear, is not going to say that January 6 was a terrorist attack or an insurgency, an insurrection, a coup d'etat, whatever word we would want to use against the American government.

It will recognize that attack as, that incident as a patriotic protest on behalf of a stolen election.

And that is the legacy.

We are watching January 6, we're watching the 2020 election be rewritten in real time.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Jacob Ware, thank you for your time.

JACOB WARE: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles has sparked a political showdown between Democrats and his administration.

On that and more, we turn now to our Politics Monday duo.

That's Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

It's great to see you both.

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Hello.

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Good to be back.

GEOFF BENNETT: So let's start with what's happening in Los Angeles with the deployment of the National Guard, the federalizing of those troops, and then add to that the roughly 700 U.S. Marines who've been deployed.

They're now on standby.

Tam, this is clearly a fight that Donald Trump wants.

What is his strategy in escalating the response?

TAMARA KEITH: President Trump, if you go back to his first term in office, he wants wanted to use the military, use force against protesters.

He sees the violent imagery, he sees it on television, and his reaction is to want to send in the military.

Back in 2020, he said -- quote - - "If the looting starts, the shooting starts" There were -- that was in Minnesota that he was referring to, but there were also protests that turned violent in California back then.

Now he's saying, "If they spit, we will hit."

He seems to have a rhyme for every occasion, and he's into this.

He wants this fight.

He wants this fight with the state of California.

Even before this happened over the weekend, late last week, he was talking about wanting to take funding away from California, urging his departments to find ways to take funds from California.

California's governor was pointing out that California pays more in taxes than it receives in federal services.

This was a fight that's been brewing, and now it is at a whole 'nother level.

GEOFF BENNETT: It's worth mentioning the protests in some places did turn violent.

TAMARA KEITH: Absolutely.

GEOFF BENNETT: The chief of the LAPD at one point said he wasn't entirely sure, maybe they did need more help, maybe they did need more National Guard resources.

But on this point of President Trump, Amy, using the military to paint this perception of toughness and to send a signal to other Democratic-led states and cities, what do you make of it?

AMY WALTER: Yes.

No, I think that's true, and I do think that's why it's been so interesting to watch the Democratic response, especially of Democratic leaders, not just in the state, but nationally.

To Tam's point about this is a fight that Donald Trump wants, Democrats know that too.

They can see the poll numbers.

They remember 2020.

They remember 2024.

And when it comes to issues like this, whether it's crime, whether it is, and now, today, on the issue of immigration, Donald Trump has the benefit of the doubt that he doesn't have on a lot of other issues.

So this is a fight that he wants to have.

What Democrats are saying is, let's not give him more fuel to keep this fight going.

You see the mayor of Los Angeles, Gavin Newsom, others saying, please, if you want to protest, that's great.

Don't turn it violent.

Don't allow this to turn into something that benefits Donald Trump, the signs, the scenes of chaos and police in the streets.

The question going forward, I think, is how Democrats do talk about these issues, it's going to be really important for the -- not just what's happening today in Los Angeles, but just writ large.

I think there has been a lot of pullback and a lot of hand-wringing from Democrats about an issue which they used to have an advantage on during the -- Trump's first term, they have a disadvantage on now.

This issue isn't going away.

And how Democrats respond to whether this is going to happen in other states, how they address concerns about safety and security, that is going to be critical just for the next -- well, forever long.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, the risk for Democrats.

What are the risks for President Trump?

Immigration, as you both said, his number one issue.It's number one in terms of that's the one that he cares the most about, but it's also the one from which he derives his best approval numbers.

AMY WALTER: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: The risks of overreach.

TAMARA KEITH: Yes, I think that there definitely isn't a risk of overreach.

There is also a risk of the Trump administration looking like they are desperately trying to boost their numbers because they haven't been able to have the sort of sweeping mass deportations that they promised coming into office.

So part of this is about trying to visibly keep that promise while also picking a fight with California.

One thing I will note is that, in California itself, the population of California, 73 percent of adults in the Public Policy Institute of California survey from February of this year said that there should be a way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally.

A vast majority say that immigrants benefit California.

So, in terms of the population of the state, his view is not popular in the state, but that also sort of heightens the fight, which is what he wants.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the time that remains, let's talk about the infighting within the Democratic National Committee, because Politico reported that the current DNC chair, the new DNC chair, Ken Martin, just months into the job, he privately told Democratic leaders that his new vice chair, David Hogg, you see him there, is making it hard to lead the party.

And Hogg has vowed to spend millions of dollars in safe blue primaries to oust incumbent Democrats that he views as ineffective.

Now, you can say most people aren't really paying attention to what's happening within the DNC right now, but the DNC, in my view, plays a more central role when the party lacks a clear, unifying leader.

So what's all this mean and what's it mean for the party?

TAMARA KEITH: Yes, there's this quote from Ken Martin that I saw where he says he took this job to fight Republicans, not Democrats.

But, right now, Democrats are fighting with each other in terms of the DNC and this leadership fight.

There is a decision being made about whether they should take a revote on who -- on this position that Hogg is in currently.

There used to be a commandment in politics that you don't go after incumbents from your own party.

Hogg's view is not that.

And, also, he is -- David Hogg is remarkably good at getting attention.

Ken Martin, that is not his greatest skill set, is getting attention.

GEOFF BENNETT: Amy?

AMY WALTER: Yes, and I think it speaks to the broader conversation that Democrats are having about, who do we want to be going forward?

David Hogg represents the younger generation that has felt incredibly frustrated with Democratic politicians, really going all the way back to 2016, when young voters said, we want Bernie Sanders.

They have actually said that in three successive elections.

So this is a fight actually Democrats should welcome having right now, because 2028 is when they want -- they should want the team to be on the same page.

If you're going to get there, you got to have the disagreements, whether it's of the DNC, but it's certainly going to be happening within primaries and just more broadly within conversations with the Democratic Party leadership.

GEOFF BENNETT: So get it out of the way in June 2025.

AMY WALTER: Right.

GEOFF BENNETT: Don't let this be happening in October... AMY WALTER: That's right, in June of 2028.

TAMARA KEITH: Well, they may or may not be able to control that for themselves here.

(CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNETT: We shall see.

Amy Walter and Tamara Keith, thanks to you both.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome.

GEOFF BENNETT: Broadway hit a record-breaking box office haul of nearly $2 billion this season, driven by renewed interest in the Great White Way and boosted by star-studded shows.

At the Tony Awards last night, there was a call to celebrate acting on big stages and small.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown, peeks behind the curtain for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: There was a reminder of past glory, a 10-year anniversary reunion of the cast of Hamilton, even amid awareness that more recent years of declining ticket sales and pandemic shutdowns haven't been so good.

Yet, last night, the 78th annual Tony Awards celebrated the highest grossing Broadway season in recorded history.

Cynthia Erivo hosted for the first time, and the night included stars from the stage and screen alike.

One of the top prizes, best musical, went to "Maybe Happy Ending," a touching story about two aging robots, why not, rediscovering love.

It swept six awards, including best score and best actor in a musical for Darren Criss.

BRANDEN JACOBS JENKINS, Playwright: I encourage everyone to please support their local theaters.

JEFFREY BROWN: Branden Jacobs Jenkins' "Purpose," already a Pulitzer Prize winner, garnered the Tony for best play.

BRANDEN JACOBS JENKINS: A lot of great stuff happens in New York, but a lot more happens out in the region.

JEFFREY BROWN: Among other winners, Nicole Scherzinger took home best actress in a musical for her powerhouse role in "Sunset Boulevard," which also won best revival.

Veteran actor Francis Jue celebrated his win for best featured actor in the play "Yellow Face."

FRANCIS JUE, Actor: To those who don't feel seen, to those who are being targeted in these authoritarian times, I see you.

JEFFREY BROWN: And in a groundbreaking moment, Cole Escola became the first openly nonbinary actor to win best actor in a play for the outrageous offbeat comedy "Oh, Mary!," Which Escola also wrote.

All in all, a season marked by fresh voices and record-breaking numbers.

And joining me now is Frank DiLella.

He's host of "On Stage" for Spectrum News NY1.

Thanks for joining us.

So it's not that long ago that all of us were reporting on Broadway's problems amid the pandemic and right afterwards.

So is Broadway back?

FRANK DILELLA, Spectrum News NY1: Broadway is absolutely back.

Cynthia talked about this last night during the Tonys, during her performance and her presentation.

This season alone, there were so many stars.

There was a diverse collection of shows on Broadway.

I have been covering this industry for over two decades now.

Never have I seen a season like this.

I mean, we're talking major Hollywood A-listers like George Clooney, Jake Gyllenhaal, Denzel Washington, Sadie Sink, Kieran Culkin.

That's just the Hollywood folks, not to mention the Broadway folks like Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster, Lea Salonga, Bernadette Peters.

We're finally past the hump pre-COVID.

So the numbers are looking good and Broadway certainly feels like it's back.

JEFFREY BROWN: But then how much of that relies on those big stars that you just mentioned and the really big ticket prices now?

How much is Broadway dependent on that continuing?

FRANK DILELLA: Yes.

The answer is, yes, that these stars are coming to Broadway and these ticket prices are pretty high.

For George Clooney's show and "Othello," which had Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, the ticket range was anywhere from like $600 to $900.

But I always say having these folks shine a spotlight on Broadway, if you can't get into those shows because these shows were selling out, it may make you say, you know what, I'm here, I'm going to see something else and you can get something at a much cheaper rate.

And the stars are going to continue to come to Broadway just from stuff that we're seeing for next season.

And that is a very good thing for Broadway.

JEFFREY BROWN: So last night, "Maybe Happy Ending" won best new musical.

"Purpose" won best new play.

Tell us briefly about those.

FRANK DILELLA: "Maybe Happy Ending," the robot love musical.

I was doing some interviews with the folks for "Maybe Happy Ending," Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, Michael Arden, who directed it.

And back in the fall, before they even started previews, there was a big question mark on whether or not this show was going to actually open.

But guess what?

It opened back in the fall.

It got rave reviews from the critics.

And it's the little show that could and is doing.

And "Purpose," this story which is very much in the spirit of "August: Osage County," if you remember that play from years ago, it centers around a family, a civil rights family, and they're all meeting at a dinner table, if you will, and things fly, sparks fly.

It's a fabulous play.

Just picked up the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

And Branden Jacobs Jenkins wrote the play.

He won last year for his play "Appropriate" in the best revival of a play category.

This time, this year, he wins for best new play for this brand-new play, "Purpose."

JEFFREY BROWN: So were there a couple of other winners or moments from last night that struck you?

FRANK DILELLA: For me personally, watching Nicole Scherzinger go on this incredible journey with "Sunset Boulevard,' which picked up best revival of a musical.

Nicole won best leading actress in a musical.

I saw this reimagined production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's show back in London two years ago and it was supposed to just be a limited run over in London.

Well, her reviews were amazing.

It sold out there, so they brought it across the pond and it's been doing big numbers, big business at the box office.

And she was awarded that best lead actress in a musical Tony.

Now, she was up against Audra McDonald, and Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard for "Death Becomes Her," Audra for "Gypsy," and Jasmine Amy Rogers for "BOOP!."

So that was a stacked category and a very competitive category.

JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Frank DiLella on Broadway and last nights's Tony, thanks so much.

FRANK DILELLA: Thank you so much.

GEOFF BENNETT: Sarah Silverman is known as one of the sharpest, most fearless voices in comedy, pushing the art form in many new directions.

In her new Netflix special out now called "PostMortem," she talks about losing her father and stepmother just days apart.

Tonight, she shares her Brief But Spectacular take on the synergy between humor and grief.

SARAH SILVERMAN, Comedian: My dad was the funniest in the family, Donald "Schleppy" Silverman.

Everybody called him Schleppy.

and he owned a discount ladies clothing store called Crazy Sophie's Factory Outlet.

Well, my dad did his own radio ads, and they were terrible.

At the end, he'd say.

So if you care enough to buy the very best, but you're too cheap, come to Crazy Sophie's.

Going to hold for this plane.

I'm in show business.

I know that works.

Holding for the plane.

He made me the funniest, because he taught me a bunch of swear words and stuff.

He was that dad.

My mother, she was Diane Chambers from "Cheers."

She said when and where and was very passionate about diction and grammar.

My stepmom, Janice, she calls herself a wicked stepmother.

Janice was nails and makeup and hair and outfits.

So she'd be like, did you talk to that boy Jeff from three weeks ago you told me in your history class?

And they were both wonderful.

They actually loved each other very much.

When my mother died about nine years ago, she was holding Janice's hand.

Life is long if you let it.

My special is called "PostMortem," the most surface meaning just literally after the death of my parents.

My dad and my stepmom died nine days apart last may.

So the stand-up I did was about them dying.

I was lucky.

I actually adored my parents.

They came over every Sunday.

It was my favorite day of the week.

My stepmom, Janice, had passed away and my dad was going and we were taking care of him at home.

He was not afraid of death at all.

I asked him if he was scared to die.

And he said: "Not at all.

I don't remember before I was born.

I'm not going to remember after."

But he said: "I am scared, though.

I'm scared it will hurt."

He was terrified of pain.

The doctor called and he said, this is it.

He's dying.

But he did say it's going to be -- the way he's going to die is kidney failure, which just happens to be a painless death.

And I was so happy for him because I knew his one fear was that it would hurt.

And I ran in, I was like, great news, you know?

You really got to take a beat sometimes.

There really is no age where you are ready to be without your parents.

I need them all the time.

I still will e-mail them sometimes.

And I know they're not online.

Or are they?

But it just feels nice to send them an e-mail sometimes or a text.

QUESTION: I have heard people say that the last thing your parents teach you is how to die.

SARAH SILVERMAN: Yes.

QUESTION: What do you feel like your dad taught you?

SARAH SILVERMAN: Well, being a comedian, I have learned how to die several times.

Now that I have been through this side of it, I feel like people are like, oh, I could never, like, change my parents' diaper or care for them in that way.

Yes, you can.

You're going to find that you can and that you're so grateful to do it.

My name is Sarah Silverman, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on saying goodbye.

GEOFF BENNETT: Wow.

You can watch more Brief But Spectacular videos on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.

And, remember, there's a lot more online, and you can always get more of our coverage in your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.

That's also at PBS.org/NewsHour.

And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

For all of us here at the "News Hour," thanks for spending part of your evening with us.