scores

MONDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Bell 17, Legacy 0

Bell 33, South Gate 0

Camino Nuevo 16, Collins Family 0

Crenshaw 18, View Park 4

Dorsey 43, Dymally 6

Dorsey 28, Washington 6

Foshay 9, Angelou 2

Foshay 26, WISH Academy 0

GALA 26, Hawkins 12

Hawkins 34, Fremont 19

Jefferson 333, Stella 0

King/Drew 21, Paramount 0

LA Hamilton 25, Maywood Academy 0

LA Roosevelt 21, Maywood CES 0

LA Wilson 37, Maywood CES 0

LA Wilson 52, LA Roosevelt 6

Legacy 14, South Gate 13

Locke 26, Diego Rivera 0

Manual Arts 18, Los Angeles 13

New Designs University Park 12, Locke 6

North Hollywood 6, East Valley 0

Orthopaedic 26, Animo De La Hoya 6

Panorama 30, East Valley 0

Panorama 12, North Hollywood 0

Rise Kohyang 20, CALS Early College 13

Santee 31, Los Angeles 0

Santee 32, Manual Arts 0

Stern 30, Hollywood 0

Taft 32, Reseda 6

TEACH Tech Charter 18, Simon tech 6

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 20, San Gorgonio 14

Anaheim 34, Garden Grove Santiago 14

Anaheim Canyon 46, Sonora 6

Bell Gardens 38, Alhambra 7

Bolsa Grande 26, Loara 20

Brentwood 31, YULA 14

Buena Park 20, Godinez 6

Burbank Burroughs 26, Sacred Heart 0

Burbank Burroughs 45, Sacred Heart 0

Chaparral 29, Temecula Valley 0

Chino 27, Ontario 12

Colony 27, Los Altos 6

Compton 26, Long Beach Wilson 13

Corona 28, Corona Centennial 21

Covina 18, Rowland 13

Don Lugo 13, Chaffey 0

Edison 14, Corona del Mar 7

Esperanza 13, Cypress 7

Etiwanda 19, Los Osos 0

Fullerton 32, Segerstrom 12

Garden Grove 26, Costa Mesa 21

Garey 13, Nogales 0

Golden Valley 25, Saugus 13

Hacienda Heights Wilson 7, Charter Oak 6

Hart 6, Castaic 0

Hemet 19, Valley View 6

Hillcrest 28, Canyon Springs 26

Immaculate Heart 24, Village Christian 6

Katella 18, Ocean View 6

La Canada 34, Temple City 6

Laguna Hills 37, Tustin 0

La Habra 27, Brea Olinda 7

Lakewood St. Joseph 38, Gardena Serra 0

La Serna 14, El Rancho 0

Linfield Christian 38, Ontario Christian 0

Loma Linda Academy 18, Redlands Adventist 6

Long Beach Poly 35, Long Beach Cabrillo 6

Los Alamitos 20, Marina 0

Los Amigos 14, Western 0

Millikan 18, Lakewood 2

Mountain View 7, El Monte 7

Montebello 21, Keppel 6

Murrieta Valley 13, Vista Murrieta 6

Newport Harbor 39, Fountain Valley 0

Norco 20, Eastvale Roosevelt 6

Norte Vista 6, La Sierra 0

Northview 25, West Covina 12

Norwalk 12, Artesia 7

Orange Lutheran 46, Aliso Niguel 20

Palm Desert 6, Palm Springs 0

Patriot 12, Ramona 7

Placentia Valencia 6, Westminster 0

Portola 47, Laguna Beach 0

Rancho Alamitos 33, Orange 6

Rancho Cucamonga 38, St. Lucy’s 12

Rialto 47, Colton 6

Riverside King 31, Corona Santiago 20

Rosemead 20, Arroyo 6

Saddleback 39, Magnolia 6

San Dimas 24, South Hills 7

San Marino 47, Rio Hondo Prep 0

Santa Ana Foothill 6, Garden Grove Pacifica 0

Schurr 26, San Gabriel 20

Serrano 6, Aquinas 0

Shadow Hills 32, La Quinta 0

Shalhevet 32, Windward 31

South El Monte 13, Gabrielino 0

St. Anthony 48, Bishop Montgomery 12

Summit 30, Jurupa Hills 25

Sunny Hills 41, Fairmont Prep 14

Upland 35, Chino Hills 0

Valencia 6, Canyon Country Canyon 0

Villa Park 6, El Modena 0

West Ranch 7, Vasquez 0

Whittier 24, Santa Fe 0

Woodbridge 26, Irvine University 7

Yorba Linda 40, Troy 0

Yucaipa 20, Arlington 0

INTERSECTIONAL

JSerra 20, Torrey Pines 12

King/Drew 21, Paramount 0

Venice 26, Culver City 0

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 36, Rim of the World 0

Antelope Valley 35, Palmdale 0

Beaumont 32, Yucaipa 7

Beckman 19, Tesoro 15

Buena 20, Rio Mesa 13

Cajon 20, Redlands East Valley 19

Camarillo 39, Moorpark 0

Canyon Springs 27, Tahquitz 7

Chaminade 0, Alemany 0

Claremont 12, Ayala 9

Colony 13, Alta Loma 12

Dos Pueblos 21, Oxnard 14

El Toro 14, San Juan Hills 7

Etiwanda 41, St. Lucy’s 0

Hemet 32, Riverside North 13

Highland 32, Eastside 0

Indian Springs 18, Pomona 8

Lancaster 54, Littlerock 0

La Sierra 32, Redlands Adventist 28

Linfield Christian 32, Shadow Hills 6

Los Osos 12, Chino Hills 6

Monrovia 32, Rio Hondo Prep 0

Murrieta Mesa 18, Indio 12

Newbury Park 26, Agoura 12

Oxnard Pacifica 8, Santa Barbara 7

Palos Verdes 19, El Segundo 6

Patriot 28, Norte Vista 6

Quartz Hill 19, Knight 14

Ramona 13, Loma Linda Academy 6

Redlands 24, Citrus Valley 7

Redondo Union 15, Torrance 0

Riverside Poly 26, Hillcrest 0

Royal 25, Simi Valley 18

San Dimas 44, Los Altos 6

San Gorgonio 7, Jurupa Hills 6

San Jacinto 18, West Valley 0

San Jacinto Valley Academy 24, Nuview Bridge 6

San Marcos 33, Ventura 0

Santa Margarita 34, Dana Hills 0

Santa Monica 20, Burbank Burroughs 6

Schurr 32, Keppel 0

SEED LA 21, YULA 12

Summit 20, Arroyo Valley 14

Sunny Hills 36, Anaheim 6

Temecula Prep 47, California Military Institute 12

Thousand Oaks 21, Oaks Christian 12

Trabuco Hills 19, Aliso Niguel 18

Upland 27, Rancho Cucamonga 0

Vista Murrieta 18, Canyon Springs 12

Westlake 39, Calabasas 0

Goal Arsenal! – Leandro Trossard

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Bell 34, Foshay 20

Birmingham 44, Arleta 0

Birmingham 14, Arleta 0

Chavez 6, Reseda 6

Chavez 8, Reseda 0

Cleveland 45, Granada Hills Kennedy 12

Cleveland 49, North Hollywood 0

Diego Rivera 28, USC Hybrid 12

Eagle Rock 26, Venice 14

GALA 13, Foshay 0

GALA 24, Bell 7

Granada Hills Kennedy 20, North Hollywood 19

Hollywood 34, Rise Kohyang 24

Jefferson 26, Fremont 6

Jefferson 15, Sotomayor 0

LA Hamilton 54, Monroe 0

LA Wilson 13, Monrovia 12

Manual Arts 32, Brio College Prep

Monroe 21, LA Hamilton 0

New Designs University Park 18, USC Hybrid 0

New Designs University Park 36, Diego Rivera 6

Orthopaedic 18, Camino Nuevo 12

San Pedro 27, Mira Costa 14

Sotomayor 15, Fremont 14

Stern 19, Animo De La Hoya 6

Sun Valley Magnet 45, East Valley 18

Van Nuys 12, Chatsworth 6

SOUTHERN SECTION

Agoura 26, Thousand Oaks 6

Aliso Niguel 33, El Toro 7

Anaheim 32, Savanna 13

Anaheim Canyon 25, Cypress 14

Aquinas 33, Rio Hondo Prep 0

Banning 25, Cathedral City 21

Beckman 48, Capistrano Valley 0

Bellflower 26, Cerritos 6

Bolsa Grande 21, Rancho Alamitos 20

Brentwood 18, Shalhevet 7

California 24, Chaffey 19

Compton 13, Long Beach Jordan 6

Corona del Mar 38, Fountain Valley 0

Costa Mesa 28, Godinez 0

Covina 27, Montclair 13

Dana Hills 12, La Serna 0

Downey 38, Corona 6

Duarte 8, Baldwin Park 7

Edison 28, Marina 0

El Modena 21, Troy 6

El Rancho 14, Montebello 0

Esperanza 13, Crean Lutheran 0

Fullerton 27, Westminster 6

Gabrielino 46, Mountain View 6

Garden Grove 33, Ocean View 6

Hacienda Heights Wilson 13, Monrovia 12

Hacienda Heights Wilson 19, Ontario 12

Hart 27, Valencia 0

Huntington Beach 20, Los Alamitos 0

Irvine University 34, Laguna Beach 6

JSerra 21, Tesoro 6

Laguna Hills 19, Segerstrom 13

Lakewood St. Joseph 38, Bishop Montgomery 6

La Palma Kennedy 20, Garden Grove Pacifica 7

Linfield Christian 31, Corona Centennial 19

Loara 13, Estancia 0

Loma Linda Academy 32, Xavier Prep 0

Mission Viejo 19, San Juan Hills 0

Newbury Park 52, Hueneme 0

Norco 31, La Sierra 6

Norwalk 13, Maywood CES 0

Ontario Christian 12, Serrano 6

Orange 20, Westminster La Quinta 7

Paramount 6, St. Paul 0

Portola 7, Northwood 6

Rosemead 14, El Monte 0

Rowland 19, Whittier 13

San Dimas 13, Bishop Amat 7

San Marino 41, Ramona Convent 6

Santa Ana Foothill 7, La Habra 6

Santa Fe 67, Whitney 0

Santa Paula 50, Fillmore 0

Saugus 6, Canyon Country Canyon 0

SEED: LA 13, Hawthorne 6

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 60, Village Christian 0

Sierra Vista 33, Garey 19

Sonora 14, Don Lugo 0

South El Monte 40, Arroyo 7

South Hills 14, West Covina 0

St. Anthony 33, St. Mary’s Academy 28

St. Lucy’s 55, Pomona 0

Sunny Hills 13, Brea Olinda 0

Vasquez 6, Golden Valley 0

West Ranch 32, Castaic 0

Westridge 32, Alhambra 8

Woodbridge 21, Irvine 0

Yorba Linda 25, El Dorado 0

Yucaipa 26, Palm Springs 7

INTERSECTIONAL

LA Marshall 24, Burbank Burroughs 12

Norwalk 13, Maywood CES 0

San Pedro 27, Mira Costa 14

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Birmingham 25, Granada Hills Kennedy 6

Franklin 19, Crenshaw 6

Granada Hills Kennedy 14, Birmingham 6

Panorama 25, Crenshaw 0

Panorama 6, Franklin 0

South East 39, Elizabeth 0

South Gate 48, Animo De La Hoya 8

Verdugo Hills 13, Sun Valley Magnet 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Agoura 26, Thousand Oaks 14

Antelope Valley 20, Lancaster 6

Artesia 19, Pioneer 6

Burbank Burroughs 44, Los Altos 20

Cerritos 33, Glenn 0

Channel Islands 20, Hart 12

Corona Del Mar 33, Mayfair 0

Dos Pueblos 48, Buena 6

El Toro 37, Long Beach Poly 6

Fairmont Prep 46, Bolsa Grande 6

Highland 36, Palmdale 0

Inglewood 28, Hawthorne 0

Knight 19, Eastside 0

Lawndale 30, Compton Centennial 0

Leuzinger 12, Culver City 6

Mira Costa 20, Peninsula 6

North Torrance 27, South Torrance 0

Oak Park 32, Simi Valley 12

Oaks Christian 32, Calabasas 0

Oxnard Pacifica 7, Rio Mesa 6

Quartz Hill 40, Littlerock 0

Redondo Union 20, Palos Verdes 7

Santa Ana Valley 26, Magnolia 12

San Marcos 41, Santa Barbara 0

Santa Monica 52, Beverly Hills 0

Ventura 32, Oxnard 13

Westlake 38, Newbury Park 22

INTERSECTIONAL

Gardena Serra 19, Carson 12

Portugal earned a 3-2 victory at Hungary in their UEFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, with Joao Cancelo scoring a late winner, two minutes after the hosts had equalised, to put them in control at the top of Group F with two away wins from two.

The visitors came from behind to lead thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty, but almost let the three points slip when conceding late on before Cancelo’s goal rescued the win to add to their 5-0 success in Armenia on Saturday.

Hungary took the lead in the 21st minute when Barnabas Varga met Zsolt Nagy’s inch-perfect cross into the box with a header which went in off the upright, before Portugal drew level 15 minutes later through Bernardo Silva’s close-range effort.

Portugal went in front after Varga handballed a Ronaldo flick-on in the area, and the 40-year-old buried his spot kick into the bottom corner.

The goal took Ronaldo level with Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz as the joint-top scorer in World Cup qualifiers on 39. He also extended his international record to 141 in 223 games.

Hungary, who drew 2-2 away to Ireland on Saturday, looked to have done the same in Budapest when Varga headed his second of the night six minutes from time, but the hosts were unable to hold on.

Two minutes later, Cancelo struck a first-time shot from outside the area after a Bernardo Silva pass to leave Portugal top of the group standings on six points.

“It’s never easy once you fall behind, and we showed a lot of character, just like against Germany and Spain [in the Nations League] in June when we were losing but managed to come back,” said Silva.

“Today, once again against a tough team, we managed to come back. Even when they scored after 80-something minutes, we still managed to score the winner.”

Armenia, who beat Ireland 2-1 earlier on Tuesday, are second with three points, with Hungary and Ireland on one point.

Norway register double-digit win against Moldova

Norway’s Erling Haaland scored five goals and substitute Thelo Aasgaard added four more as they hammered hapless Moldova 11-1 to take another huge step towards qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

With five games played, the Norwegians top Group I on 15 points, six ahead of second-placed Italy, who have a game in hand. Moldova’s worst defeat leaves them bottom of the group with no points.

The group winners qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup, while the runners-up go into a playoff.

Haaland’s beautifully cushioned pass teed up Felix Horn Myhre to break the scoring deadlock with a sixth-minute tap-in, and Martin Odegaard should have made it two a minute later, but he blazed the ball over from close range.

The Norwegians did not have to wait long for another goal as Haaland rattled home in the 11th minute, snapping up a loose ball in the box and sweeping it into the far corner.

Haaland slotted home his second to round off a Norwegian counterattack in the 36th minute and completed his hat-trick before halftime.

Moldova keeper Cristian Avram forced him to go wide, but Haaland recovered the ball and chipped it brilliantly in at the far post to make it 4-0.

Odegaard netted a fifth in first-half stoppage time, and seven minutes into the second half, Haaland struck again, scoring his fourth with a header as Norway ran riot in front of their home fans.

Substitute Aasgaard struck twice, either side of an own goal by Leo Ostigard, and he got his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 79th minute before Haaland added the 10th, his ninth goal in five World Cup qualifiers.

Aasgaard completed the rout with a flicked finish in second-half stoppage time to complete a rare double-digit margin of victory.

England dominate Serbia

England took a huge step towards automatic qualification for the World Cup, with captain Harry Kane paving the way for an impressive 5-0 victory away to main Group K rivals, Serbia.

Criticised for a laboured home win over Andorra at the weekend, England produced their best display under Thomas Tuchel to take full advantage of a timid Serbia display and maintain their 100 percent record in the group without conceding a goal.

Kane headed England’s opener from Declan Rice’s corner in the 33rd minute, and minutes later Noni Madueke scored his first senior international goal to double the lead.

Seven minutes after the break, it was Ezri Konsa’s turn to open his England account and put the visitors in cruise control with a close-range finish.

Serbia’s night went from bad to worse when Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in the 73rd minute for a foul on Kane, and from Rice’s resulting free kick, Marc Guehi arrived to make it 4-0.

Substitute Marcus Rashford rounded it off with a late penalty after a foul on Ollie Watkins as England moved to 15 points from five games and a seven-point lead over Albania.

Serbia’s first defeat in the group leaves them third on seven points, with a game in hand.

The group winners qualify for next year’s finals, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Reporting from Kissimmee, Fla.  — Campaigning for Hillary Clinton at a Florida baseball stadium, President Obama lamented Sunday that the nature of this year’s presidential race has become so negative that even “Saturday Night Live” this week couldn’t keep parodying it.

What bothered him most, the president said, was the way “stuff that’s not normal, people have been treating like it’s normal.”

He referred to how just days ago he encouraged people at one of his rallies to show respect for a Donald Trump supporter who came to protest the event.

But Trump claimed just hours later that Obama had yelled at the man.

“Didn’t just make it up, but said the exact opposite of what had happened, with impunity,” he said. “There was tape. There was a video…. He thought it was OK just to lie in front of all his supporters.

“That says something about how unacceptable behavior has become normal,” Obama added. “And that’s why he is uniquely unqualified to hold this job. The good news is, all of you are uniquely qualified to make sure that he doesn’t get the job!”

Obama also mocked Trump after a report that his own campaign apparently had taken away his access to Twitter, where Trump has been known to send insulting missives.

“If somebody can’t handle a Twitter account, they can’t handle the nuclear codes,” Obama said.

It was a typically chesty speech from the outgoing commander in chief as he not only stumps aggressively for Hillary Clinton to succeed him, but settles some scores with the Republicans who have tried to stifle his every move for eight years.

In his reelection campaign four years ago, Obama would talk somewhat optimistically — in retrospect, perhaps naively — about his view that Republicans who had opposed him in his first term would be more cooperative should he win a second.

Knowing he would not be on the ballot again, there was less political incentive to deny him policy victories, and perhaps political incentive to try to find common ground, he thought.

“The fever will break,” he would say back then.

“C’mon, man,” has become his head-shaking credo now.

Obama on Sunday again attacked Republicans who support Trump even though they hold private — and some even public — reservations about him. He also warned that electing a Republican Congress would lead to a continuation of the obstruction he’s faced.

“They’re suggesting they might impeach Hillary. They don’t know what for yet. But they’re thinking about it,” Obama said.

Gridlock, he continued, is not “some mysterious fog that descends on Washington,” or something equally the fault of Democrats and Republicans.

“You want some more endless gridlock, vote for Republicans. You want an America that can do better … then you need to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot,” he said.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has emerged as one of Obama’s favorite targets, an example of a Republican whose devotion to defeating Democrats sometimes supersedes his personal and policy convictions.

Rubio supports Trump now, Obama said, even though he called Trump a con artist while running against him for the GOP nomination.

“He tweeted, ‘Friends don’t let friends vote for con artists,’” Obama said. “Guess who just voted for Trump a few days ago? Marco Rubio.”

Rubio’s opponent, Rep. Patrick Murphy, appeared before Obama on Sunday.

“If you want a senator who will say anything, do anything, be anybody just to get elected, then that’s your guy,” Obama said of Rubio. “If you want a senator who will show up and work for you and tell you the truth, then vote for Patrick Murphy and give Hillary some help.”

Obama made just one stop Sunday here in Central Florida, a key swing area in the always-important battleground state. “We win this election if we win Florida,” Obama said. “If we win Florida, it’s a wrap.”

Monday he has three appearances scheduled, in Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. He will join Clinton at the latter.

[email protected]

For more 2016 campaign coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter

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A hat-trick from Mikel Merino, a brace from Pedri and a Ferran Torres strike condemn Turkiye to a shellacking at home.

Mikel Merino’s hat-trick helped Spain to thrash hosts Turkiye 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier as the European champions remained firmly in control of Group E.

The hosts had no answer to Spain’s dominance on Sunday, undone time and again by the visitors’ speed and finesse, with a helpless Turkish defence torn apart on every counterattack.

Spain lead the group with six points from two matches, while Turkiye and Georgia sit on three points from the same. Georgia beat Bulgaria 3-0 earlier on Sunday.

The visitors struck early as Pedri found the net in the sixth minute, slotting past goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir.

Merino doubled Spain’s tally in the 22nd minute, finishing off a slick passing move inside the box with a simple unmarked strike past the Turkish defence.

In first-half stoppage time, Merino struck again, this time latching onto a pull-back and firing home to give Spain a three-goal cushion at the interval.

The onslaught resumed eight minutes into the second half when a Turkish corner backfired, Ferran Torres led a rapid counterattack and finished off a sharp exchange inside the box to make it four.

Brimming with confidence, Merino completed his hat-trick just four minutes later, capping another breakaway with a stunning left-footed curler from distance that flew into the top corner for Spain’s fifth.

Pedri added another one for Spain in the 62nd minute, arriving unmarked at the end of another swift break to slot home his second for the night.

Elsewhere in the UEFA qualifiers, four-time world champions Germany struggled for more than an hour against Northern Ireland, before scoring twice in three minutes in the second half to earn a 3-1 victory on Sunday.

With the score level at 1-1, a tap-in by substitute Nadiem Amiri in the 69th minute and a free kick from Florian Wirtz made sure of Germany’s first win in Group A.

It was also the first victory for Julian Nagelmann’s team in their last five matches, and followed their shock 2-0 loss to hosts Slovakia on Thursday – their first ever away defeat in a World Cup qualifier – in their opening group match.

In Sunday’s other Group A game, Slovakia eked out a 1-0 win away at Luxembourg.

In Brussels, meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne underlined his talismanic role for Belgium with a stunning goal to break the deadlock and set his side on their way to a comfortable 6-0 win over Kazakhstan in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

It was threatening to become a frustrating night at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium for the Belgians before the 42nd-minute strike, but after that, they were able to go on and register a comfortable victory with both De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku scoring twice.

Belgium have 10 points from four games in Group J, ahead of Wales on goal difference but trailing leaders North Macedonia, who beat Liechtenstein 5-0 earlier on Sunday by a point. North Macedonia and Wales have played five matches each, however.

Elsewhere, Memphis Depay set a new scoring record for the Netherlands as his double ensured they survived a scare in beating Lithuania 3-2 away in their qualifier on Sunday.

Two goals for the 31-year-old Depay took his national team tally to 52, moving ahead of Robin van Persie’s previous record, and putting the Netherlands at the top of the Group G standings with 10 points from four games – ahead of Poland on goal difference after the Poles won 3-1 at home to Finland on Sunday.

WASHINGTON — President Trump, once a casino owner and always a man in search of his next deal, is fond of a poker analogy when sizing up partners and adversaries.

“We have much bigger and better cards than they do,” he said of China last month. Compared with Canada, he said in June, “we have all the cards. We have every single one.” And most famously, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in their Oval Office confrontation earlier this year: “You don’t have the cards.”

The phrase offers a window into the worldview of Trump, who has spent his second stint in the White House amassing cards to deploy in pursuit of his interests.

Seven months into his second term, he’s accumulated presidential power that he’s used against universities, media companies, law firms and individuals he dislikes. A man who ran for president as an angry victim of a weaponized “deep state” is, in many ways, supercharging government power and training it on his opponents.

And the supporters who responded to his complaints about overzealous Democrats aren’t recoiling. They’re egging him on.

“Weaponizing the state to win the culture war has been essential to their agenda,” said David N. Smith, a University of Kansas sociologist who has extensively researched the motivations of Trump voters. “They didn’t like it when the state was mobilized to restrain Trump, but they’re happy to see the state acting to fight the culture war on their behalf.”

How Trump has weaponized the government

Trump began putting the federal government to work for him within hours of taking office in January, and he’s been collecting and using power in novel ways ever since. It’s a high-velocity push to carry out his political agendas and grudges.

This past month, hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops fanned out across Washington after Trump drew on a never-used law that allows him to take control of law enforcement in the nation’s capital. He’s threatened similar deployments in other cities run by Democrats, including Baltimore, Chicago, New York and New Orleans. He has also moved to fire a Federal Reserve governor, pointing to unproven claims of mortgage fraud that she denies.

Trump, his aides and allies throughout the executive branch have trained the government, or threatened to, on a dizzying array of targets:

—He threatened to block a stadium plan for the Washington Commanders football team unless it readopted the racial slur it used as its team name until 2020.

—He revoked security clearances and tried to block access to government facilities for attorneys at law firms he disfavors.

—He revoked billions of dollars in federal research funds and sought to block international students from elite universities. Under pressure, Columbia University agreed to a $220-million settlement, the University of Pennsylvania revoked records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, and presidents resigned from the University of Virginia and Northwestern University.

—He has fired or reassigned federal employees targeted for their work, including prosecutors who worked on cases involving him.

—He dropped corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams to gain cooperation in his crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally.

—He secured multimillion-dollar settlements against media organizations in lawsuits that were widely regarded as weak cases.

—Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi is pursuing a grand jury review of the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and appointed a special prosecutor to scrutinize New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

That’s not weaponizing government, says White House spokesperson Harrison Fields; it’s wielding power.

“What the nation is witnessing today is the execution of the most consequential administration in American history,” Fields said, “one that is embracing common sense, putting America first, and fulfilling the mandate of the American people.”

Use of power

There’s a push and a pull to power. It is both given and taken. And through executive orders, personnel moves, the bully pulpit and sheer brazenness, Trump has claimed powers that none of his modern predecessors came close to claiming.

He has also been handed power by many around him. By a fiercely loyal base that rides with him through thick and thin. By a Congress and Supreme Court that so far have ceded power to the executive branch. By universities, law firms, media organizations and other institutions that have negotiated or settled with him.

The U.S. government is powerful, but it’s not inherently omnipotent. As Trump learned to his frustration in his first term, presidential powers are limited by the Constitution, laws, court rulings, bureaucracy, traditions and norms. Yet in his second term, Trump has managed to eliminate, steamroll, ignore or otherwise neutralize many of those guardrails.

Leaders can exert their will through fear and intimidation, by determining the topics that are getting discussed and by shaping people’s preferences, Steven Lukes argued in a seminal 1974 book, “Power: A Radical View.” Lukes, a professor emeritus at New York University, said Trump exemplifies all three dimensions of power. Trump’s innovation, Lukes said, is “epistemic liberation” — a willingness to make up facts without evidence.

“This idea that you can just say things that aren’t true, and then it doesn’t matter to your followers and to a lot of other people … that seems to me a new thing,” at least in liberal democracies, Lukes said. Trump uses memes and jokes more than argument and advocacy to signal his preferences, he said.

Trump ran against ‘weaponization’

Central to Trump’s 2024 campaign was his contention that he was the victim of a “vicious persecution ” perpetrated by “the Biden administration’s weaponized Department of Injustice.”

Facing four felony criminal cases in New York, Washington and Florida, Trump said in 2023 that he yearned not to end the government weaponization, but to harness it. “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Aug. 4, 2023.

“If I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say, ‘Go down and indict them,’” he said in a Univision interview on Nov. 9, 2023. And given a chance by a friendly Fox News interviewer to assure Americans that he would use power responsibly, he responded in December that year that he would not be a dictator “except on Day One.”

He largely backed off those threats as the election got closer, even as he continued to campaign against government weaponization. When he won, he declared an end to it.

His victory essentially ended the felony criminal indictments against him, including his role in the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which led to his second impeachment. Long-standing Justice Department policy says that sitting presidents may not be charged with crimes.

He still entered the White House in January as the only felon to ever occupy the office, after his conviction last year on fraud charges related to a hush-money payment to a porn star just before his first election, in 2016.

One of Trump’s first acts of his new term in January was to issue pardons or commutations for more than 1,500 people convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6, including sedition and attacks on police officers.

“Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents — something I know something about,” Trump said in his second inaugural address.

A month later: “I ended Joe Biden’s weaponization soon as I got in,” Trump said in a Feb. 22 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. And 10 days after that: “We’ve ended weaponized government, where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent, like me.”

Two days later, on March 6, Trump signed a sweeping order targeting a prominent law firm that represents Democrats. And on April 9, he issued presidential memoranda directing the Justice Department to investigate two officials from his first administration, Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor.

With that, the weaponization has come full circle. Trump is no longer surrounded by tradition-bound lawyers and government officials, and his instinct to play his hand aggressively faces few restraints.

Cooper writes for the Associated Press.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Bernstein 25, Chatsworth 6

L.A. Wilson 56, Hollywood 0

Lincoln 27, Torres 0

Panorama 58, Bernstein 0

Panorama 55, Chatsworth 0

Santee 6, L.A. University 0

South East 13, Angelou 6

SOUTHERN SECTION

Channel Islands 32, Hueneme 6

Los Alamitos 47, Katella 0

Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 34, Whitney 0

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 24, Burbank Burroughs 0

St. Francis 47, Redlands Adventist Academy 0

Trabuco Hills 26, Sage Hill 13

Villa Park 15, Capistrano Valley 0

Windward 39, YULA 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Cleveland 7, Brentwood 6

Compton d. LA Jordan, forfeit

LA Wilson 35, Sacred Heart of Jesus 0

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Arlington 6, Norte Vista 0

Bonita 46, Keppel 0

Bonita 26, La Serna 6

Bonita d. Keppel, forfeit

Camarillo 26, Corona Del Mar 6

Camarillo 26, Linfield Christian 0

Corona 14, Canyon Springs 12

Corona 14, Serrano 0

Corona Centennial 20, Capistrano Valley 0

Corona Centennial 19, Linfield Christian 12

Covina 34, El Monte 6

Edison 41, La Habra 0

El Rancho 25, Norwalk 0

El Toro 40, Capistrano Valley 0

El Toro 20, El Dorado 6

Glendora 27, San Gabriel 7

JSerra 35, Classical Academy 0

JSerra 25, Edison 0

La Serna 22, Keppel 0

La Sierra 25, Valley View 7

Mission Viejo 12, Santa Ana Foothill 6

Newport Harbor 33, Fairmont Prep 0

Newport Harbor 14, Santa Margarita 12

Rancho Cucamonga 12, South Hills 6

Redlands East Valley 25, Cypress 12

San Dimas 13, Don Lugo 12

San Juan Hills 6, Mission Viejo 0

Santa Ana Foothill 7, El Dorado 6

Santa Margarita 33, Redlands East Valley 7

St. Lucy’s 14, Azusa 12

Tesoro 53, Fairmont Prep 6

Tesoro 26, Rosary 6

Torrey Pines 21, Corona del Mar 6

Torrey Pines 19, San Juan Hills 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Merced 44, Rancho Cucamonga 20

Merced 32, South Hills 12

HIGH SCHOOL FLAG FOOTBALL

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Bell 58, Bernstein 6

Cleveland 26, San Fernando 0

Eagle Rock 35, Sylmar 8

Fremont 20, Santee 13

Jefferson 24, Bell 12

Jefferson 32, Bernstein 7

LA Marshall 27, Verdugo Hills 13

LA Wilson 18, Hawkins 0

LA Wilson 42, Manual Arts 0

Narbonne 61, Fremont 6

Narbonne 50, Santee 0

North Hollywood 13, LA Hamilton 0

Panorama 64, Monroe 0

Roosevelt 25, Crenshaw 8

Roosevelt 21, Sotomayor 0

San Fernando 25, Arleta 0

San Pedro 25, Marshall 6

San Pedro 26, Verdugo Hills 7

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany 20, La Palma Kennedy 18

Aliso Niguel 33, Sunny Hills 7

Anaheim Canyon 57, La Mirada 0

Azusa 20, Pomona 0

Banning 31, Indian Springs 6

Beaumont 45, Redlands 6

Beckman 44, Sunny Hills 13

Bishop Amat 12, La Serna 6

Bonita 26, Northview 2

Bolsa Grande 40, Saddleback 18

Burbank Burroughs 19, Ramona Convent 0

California 56, Baldwin Park 7

Cajon 20, Burbank Burroughs 6

Camarillo 53, Thousand Oaks 6

Castaic 12, Saugus 6

Chaffey 33, Colony 6

Compton 18, Compton Early College 0

Corona Santiago 20, Great Oak 0

Costa Mesa 37, Los Amigos 0

Crean Lutheran 38, Paramount 12

Cypress 27, Lakewood 6

Desert Hot Springs 34, Rancho Mirage 6

Downey 34, La Serna 0

Duarte 10, Workman 6

Eastvale Roosevelt 24, Rancho Cucamonga 18

Edison 52, Anaheim 2

El Monte 24, Arroyo 0

Elsinore 33, West Valley 7

El Toro 33, Corona Centennial 6

Etiwanda 21, Corona Santiago 6

Fullerton 14, Placentia Valencia 8

Garden Grove 25, Westminster La Quinta 0

Glendora 7, Hacienda Heights Wilson 0

Hart 18, Saugus 0

Highland 34, Knight 6

Immaculate Heart 7, Village Christian 0

JSerra 26, Warren 12

Jurupa Hills 39, Fontana 6

Kaiser 32, Colton 0

Laguna Hills 25, Westminster 19

La Habra 26, El Dorado 6

Lancaster 20, Eastside 6

La Palma Kennedy 28, Tustin 6

Linfield Christian 52, Claremont 13

Long Beach Poly 28, Long Beach Jordan 0

Long Beach Wilson 25, Long Beach Cabrillo 8

Montclair 12, Rowland 6

Montebello 12, South El Monte 0

Newbury Park 32, Simi Valley 7

Newport Harbor 19, Huntington Beach 13

Norco 14, Murrieta Valley 7

Norwalk 18, Sacred Heart of Jesus 0

Ontario Christian 25, Anaheim 19

Orange 32, Garden Grove Santiago 6

Orange Lutheran 40, Fullerton 0

Palos Verdes 40, Bishop Montgomery 0

Placentia Valencia 25, Segerstrom 13

Portola 27, Rosary Academy 12

Quartz Hill 19, Palmdale 0

Rancho Alamitos 21, Ocean View 6

Redlands East Valley 52, Citrus Valley 6

Riverside Poly 28, Arlington 0

Rosemead 6, Gabrielino 0

San Gorgonio 61, Rim of the World 0

San Jacinto Valley Academy 18, Nuview Bridge 0

San Juan Hills 7, El Modena 0

San Marcos 47, Buena 0

San Marino 52, Alhambra 12

Santa Ana Foothill 32, Godinez 6

Santa Fe 13, Bell Gardens 6

Sonora 12, Garden Grove 6

South Hills 13, Los Osos 6

St. Bernard 12, Culver City 0

St. Lucy’s 55, Edgewood 0

St. Paul 26, Buena Park 20

Summit 25, Rialto 0

Tahquitz 19, San Jacinto 0

Temecula Prep 35, California Military Institute 6

Tesoro 46, Corona 14

Upland 19, Bishop Amat 14

Vasquez 18, Castaic 12

Villa Park 46, Katella 0

Vista del Lago 36, Lakeside 0

Warren 20, Schurr 7

Western Christian 25, Upland 20

West Ranch 21, Hart 6

Woodbridge 44, Laguna Beach 8

INTERSECTIONAL

Bishop Alemany 20, Granada Hills Kennedy 18

Eagle Rock 53, Keppel 0

Sylmar 32, Keppel 0

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Eagle Rock 28, Bell 0

Elizabeth 19, WISH Academy 14

Sherman Oaks CES 40, AMIT 0

Sun Valley Magnet 60, Valor Academy 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Anaheim Canyon 28, Aliso Niguel 13

Antelope Valley 19, Quartz Hill 6

Brentwood 38, Shalhevet 0

Chino 12, Vista del Lago 0

Culver City 20, Beverly Hills 13

Dos Pueblos 15, San Marcos 14

Foothill 21, Rosary Academy 6

Godinez 19, Westminster La Quinta 0

Hacienda Heights Wilson 26, La Canada 12

Highland 20, Lancaster 18

Inglewood 9, Leuzinger 6

Knight 47, Littlerock 0

Lakewood St. Joseph 32, Corona del Mar 6

Lawndale 50, Hawthorne 12

Long Beach Wilson 14, Santa Ana 13

Newbury Park 40, Oaks Christian 0

Orange Lutheran 53, Northwood 0

Oxnard 32, Oxnard Pacifica 6

Palmdale 6, Eastside 0

Santa Paula 39, Del Sol 0

Saugus 31, Fillmore 6

Torrance 27, South Torrance 0

Ventura 41, Buena 0

West Ranch 27, Canyon Country Canyon 6

INTERSECTIONAL

Ayala 20, Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Northridge 6

Ayala 18, Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Northridge 0

Merced 24, Bellflower 12

Wilmington Banning 32, Gahr 19