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January 22 2026, Donald Trump held a nearly two hour press briefing in the White House.
The occassion was the first anniversary of his second term as president, and during the time standing at the podium, Trump talked about all of the accomplishments of the administration during the past year.
What got most of the focus was that the president started the briefing by showing the reporters poster after poster of alleged criminal immigants, that the administration had taken into custody, but when someonw speaks for nearly two hours, a lot of words come out.
And now, a clip of Trump seemingly praising military presense in the streets has set the internet ablaze.
Big, strong guys, bad guys
During the briefing, Donald Trump started talking about the National Guard in Washington D.C., saying he felt “very safe” while walking around the capital – something he said, he couldn’t do a year prior.
Then came the viral remark, when Trump said:
“I don’t know, to me, a town looks better when you have military people. These are big, strong guys, bad guys. Look at them and say, ‘We’re not gonna mess with them.’
The quote from Donald Trump appeared approx. 1 hour, 35 minutes and 40 seconds into the livestream of the press briefing, which can be seen in full on the White House’s website here (opens new tab).
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The Insurreaction Act
The remarks underscored a broader pattern that has defined the administration’s response to unrest tied to immigration enforcement.
They followed days after the president warned he could rely on an 1807 statute to send troops into cities where protests have continued over the deployment of federal officers to support a sweeping immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
He has repeatedly raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, a power rarely used in modern times, to place the military or the National Guard in domestic policing roles.
Those threats have drawn resistance from several state governors, who argue such moves would override local authority and escalate tensions rather than restore order.
Sources: The White House, X, Fox News, Indy100
