History Repeats Itself: A Contemporary Reflection on Protests
If you took a long nap in the spring of 2020 and just woke up to the latest cable news, you might be shocked to find that it feels as though no time has elapsed at all.
The current unrest in Los Angeles has been characterized by Democrats and certain media outlets as ‘peaceful protests’—a phrase that seems to be on a perpetual loop, reminiscent of the rhetoric from three years ago. It appears that every time the left resorts to disruptive behavior, these same talking points come flooding back, as if on autopilot.
Just weeks prior, there were claims from liberal media figures about being misled regarding Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities, vowing not to be duped again. Yet here they are again, repeating the same old refrain concerning the current riots: Ignore the evidence before you; trust us, it’s peaceful.
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
This past weekend, liberal commentators and politicians asserted that the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles were nonviolent, even while simultaneously broadcasting footage of cars engulfed in flames. “At this point, this has been very peaceful. It has been tense at some moments, but we haven’t seen any violence happening here,” CNN correspondent Julia Vargas Jones noted, as the network depicted rioters on motorbikes circling a burning vehicle at a busy intersection.
In a similar vein, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D., Calif.) appeared on CNN, accusing the Trump administration of targeting “peaceful protests,” all while footage of chaos played in the background.
The unrest in Los Angeles erupted over the weekend in reaction to ICE raids, with protesters shutting down the 101 Freeway, confronting law enforcement, setting vehicles ablaze, and engaging in looting. In response, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to restore order.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris chimed in, claiming the Trump administration was “stoking fear” and asserting that the protests in defense of immigrants had been “overwhelmingly peaceful.”
Watch the video:
WATCH: Media Shrug Off LA Rioters as ‘Peaceful People’ https://t.co/OjgyFYJPC7 pic.twitter.com/drB1NkJio3
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) June 9, 2025
Here’s another example of the same narrative:
SUPERCUT!
Corporate media: These murderous riots are actually mostly peaceful pic.twitter.com/9Aig54BoH2
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 9, 2025
This is a textbook case of propaganda, eerily similar to the narrative surrounding Joe Biden. The same individuals, employing the same methods of gaslighting.
