Last month, Vice President JD Vance visited Los Angeles.No, not to better coordinate with local law enforcement frustrated after the dangerous lack of communication coming from the Trump administration as they keep Marines and National Guardsmen in Los Angeles.Instead, the vice president came to escalate a crisis of President Trumps own making and to disparage Californias elected officials.How else would you describe the vice presidents conduct, when three days after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass lifted the curfew downtown and protests were dissipating, he staged a press conference to attack state and local leaders, falsely claiming they had "decided to go to war against" law enforcement.SENATOR ALEX PADILLA SLAMS JD VANCE AFTER VP CALLED HIM 'JOSE' DURING A PRESS CONFERENCEThats a far cry from lowering the political temperature. But for this administration, its standard operating procedure.Yet, one thing the vice president said did surprise me. It came when one of his handpicked reporters lobbed yet another softball question, asking for his comment on the string of Democratic lawmakers myself included that the Trump administration has handcuffed for speaking out."Well, I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasnt the theater," he said, smirking. "Thats what this is: its pure political theater."Political theater. Huh.The vice president, my former colleague and the current president of the U.S.Senate intentionally chose to call me "Jose" instead of "Alex." He knows my name. But sadly, his behavior in June is indicative of a larger trend from this administration.In 2025, there is no one who personifies political theater better than JD Vance and Donald Trump. In fact, were in the middle of their biggest act yet as they use service members and federal law enforcement in Los Angeles as props to justify their latest power grab.None of this is new.JD VANCE RAILS AGAINST NEWSOM, LA MAYOR FOR DECLARING OPEN SEASON ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENTTime and time again, when the Trump administration finds itself in hot water, it returns to the same tired playbook: pick a fight to distract people. Scapegoat immigrants. Threaten the use of force. Do whatever you can to create a spectacle and change the news cycle. And as it turns out, just a few short weeks ago, things were going terribly wrong for Donald Trump.He was facing failures on nearly every front: failing to bring prices down or to secure a wave of trade deals despite his trade advisers promise to secure "90 deals in 90 days." Failing to quickly pass his "Big, Beautiful Bill" as allies and adversaries alike began to warn of the trillions of dollars it would add to the federal deficit. And perhaps most embarrassing of all, he was facing a messy public break-up with Elon Musk.So no, it was no coincidence that at the lowest point of his presidency yet, Donald Trump turned to his break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, federalizing and deploying 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles along with hundreds of Marines.The Trump administration wants this spectacle. They want to distract from their failures, while giving them an excuse to push the boundaries of Trumps power.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONBut this isnt just about how the Trump administration treats blue states or immigrants. Its about how they treat our military, too. Anyone who applauds President Trumps militarization of Los Angeles is also applauding a politician tearing away our service members from critical missions any time the president begins to feel some political pressure. And applauding putting every Guardsman and Marine in an impossible position.No one enlists to become a political prop.But to Americans watching from home who still think this doesnt concern them because theyre not a Californian, not an immigrant, not a Democrat, or not from a military family: think hard about what comes next.The Trump administration has argued the president alone can deploy the military to put down protests over the wishes of the governor. Of the mayor. Even of local law enforcement.While you might not care to speak up today, imagine if a Democratic president returns to office and chooses to deploy our military to your state. It doesnt matter that the overwhelming majority of protestors remain peaceful one bad actor who chooses to exploit a protest to cause chaos, and the president could militarize your community, too.In the end, this doesnt come down to Republican versus Democrat, or Trump and Vance versus Los Angeles. It comes down to the basic question: do you believe that in America, an attack on anyones rights is an attack on everyones rights?Or, if youre like J.D. Vance, are you just here for the show?