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Sen. Tom Cotton implored President Donald Trump to “Send In the Troops, for Real” in a Wall Street Journal essay on Tuesday that called back to his infamous 2020 New York Times op-ed.
The Arkansas Republican wrote in support of Trump’s deployment of National Guard and Marine soldiers to Los Angeles over the weekend after anti-ICE riots escalated beyond local police control. His comments echoed similar arguments he made in the wake of Black Lives Matter riots plaguing major cities in the summer of 2020.
“At the risk of again sending liberals to their fainting couches, it may indeed be time to send in the troops,” Cotton wrote.
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Unlike 2020, Cotton acknowledged Trump was taking steps to provide additional support for law enforcement, though stopping short of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807. He argued that despite concerns from Democrats, Trump has the legal authority to invoke the Insurrection Act should it be necessary.
Cotton wrote that he was also planning on introducing new legislation that would “stiffen penalties for rioters who attack law enforcement” and “make riot-related crimes a deportable offense.”
He added the current Republican budget bill provides additional funding for immigration authorities to deport criminal illegal immigrants.
“These ideas are basic common sense, but as was the case five years ago, the Democrats haven’t learned. It isn’t ‘inflammatory,’ as [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom claimed, to enforce federal law, stand with law enforcement and protect civilians. It’s necessary to keep the peace.” Cotton wrote.
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In 2020, Cotton penned the now-infamous op-ed in The New York Times titled “Send in the Troops,” advocating for an “overwhelming show of force” to quell the unrest following George Floyd’s death.
The piece sparked fierce backlash not just by liberals on Twitter but by New York Times employees, many of them claiming Cotton’s piece “puts Black @NYT staff in danger.”
The Times initially stood by the piece, citing free speech and diverse viewpoints, but quickly reversed course, claiming the essay “fell short of our standards and should not have been published.” Former Times editor James Bennet was forced to resign after the internal uproar.
After its mea culpa, the New York Times faced additional backlash from conservatives who pointed out that it had carried op-eds from controversial figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Erdogan and even the leader of the Taliban.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times for a comment.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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