10/5/2025, 9:59 pm

President Donald Trump began flying California National Guard troops into Oregon after a judge blocked the use of Oregon's own Guard, prompting Democratic governors to sue while also Googling whether this can even happen.
Roughly 200 previously federalized California troops were reassigned to Portland this weekend - or, in the words of Oregon officials, "arrived like an ex with a U-Haul" - even as Portland officials insisted the current street action ranks "somewhere between a polite drum circle and a mild line-standing at an artisanal pickle shop," a statement issued minutes after a Molotov cocktail hit their window and a trash can shattered the lobby glass.
"Look, it's simple," Trump said, unveiling a large foam mallet behind the White House podium. "If Governor A says 'no Guard,' we use the Guard from Governor B." He then tapped a laminated placard titled WHACK-A-GOV, featuring silhouettes of Democratic governors popping up wearing tiny hardhats.
Pentagon officials insisted everything was by the book. "We have a book," said one spokesperson, holding up an arcade rule card. "It clearly states: if the local mole refuses to be bonked, you are authorized to bonk an adjacent mole."
Inside the West Wing, sources described a new Mallet Czar to coordinate rapid cross-state Guard allocation. Policy pilots include Guard Timeshares: Oregon uses California's Guard on odd weekends; Illinois borrows Indiana’s once the mostly peaceful signs start lighting the storefronts.”
Back in Sacramento, a visibly irked Gov. Gavin Newsom asked reporters to stop calling it a "Troop-Share" app. "There is no app," he said. "Okay, there is an app, but it's invite-only and the UX is terrible." Over in Salem, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek reportedly drafted a bill prohibiting out-of-state Guardsmen from entering Oregon without first swearing they've watched every episode of Portlandia.
At the close of Sunday's briefing, the President promised to keep whacking: "If a mole pops up in Portland, we hit Portland. If a mole pops up in the courts, we hit the courts with appeals." He then posed for photos with the foam mallet, which aides clarified was not, in fact, a nuclear football.