I quite understand your point about bad optics and litigation for Trump.
Didn't seem to bother President Lyndon Johnson though when he sent troops to Washington, D.C. when rioters after the death of Martin Luther King outnumbered the DC police. Of course, Democrats controlled both Houses of Congress at that time (and the press and the TV channels).
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11403
Executive Order 11403 by President of the United States
Providing for the restoration of law and order in the Washington Metropolitan Area
WHEREAS I have today issued Proclamation No. 3840, calling upon persons engaged in acts of violence and disorder in the Washington metropolitan area to cease and desist therefrom and to disperse and retire peaceably forthwith; and
WHEREAS the conditions of domestic violence and disorder described therein continue, and the persons engaging in such acts of violence have not dispersed:
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces under the Constitution and laws of the United States, including Chapter 15 of Title 10 of the United States Code and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and by virtue of the authority vested in me as commander-in-chief of the militia of the District of Columbia by the Act of March 1, 1889, as amended (D.C. Code, Title 39), it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. The Secretary of Defense is authorized and directed to take all appropriate steps to disperse all persons engaged in the acts of violence described in the proclamation, to restore law and order, and to see that the property, personnel and functions of the Federal Government, of embassies of foreign governments, and of international organizations in the Washington metropolitan area are protected against violence or other interference.
SECTION 2. In carrying out the provisions of Section 1, the Secretary of Defense is authorized to use such of the Armed Forces of the United States as be may deem necessary.
SECTION 3. (a) The Secretary of Defense is hereby authorized and directed to call into the active military service of the United States, as he may deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of this order, units or members of the Army National Guard and of the Air National Guard to serve in the active military service of the United States for an indefinite period and until relieved by appropriate orders. Units or members may be relieved subject to recall at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense. In carrying out the provisions of Section 1, the Secretary of Defense is authorized to use units and members called or recalled into active military service of the United States pursuant to this section.
(b) In addition, in carrying out the provisions of Section 1, the Secretary of Defense is authorized to exercise any of the powers vested in me by law as commander-in-chief of the militia of the District of Columbia, during such time as any units or members of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard of the District shall not have been called into the active military service of the United States.
SECTION 4. The Secretary of Defense is authorized to delegate to one or more of the Secretaries of the military Departments any of the authority conferred upon him by this order.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
The White House,
4:03 P.M. Friday, April 5, 1968.
On Friday, April 5, President Johnson dispatched 11,850 federal troops and 1,750 D.C. Army National Guardsmen to assist the overwhelmed D.C. police force.[15] Marines mounted machine guns on the steps of the Capitol and Army soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Regiment guarded the White House. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina and 6th Cavalry Regiment from Fort Meade, Maryland were among the principal federal forces sent to the city. At one point, on April 5, rioting reached within two blocks of the White House before rioters retreated. The occupation of Washington was the largest of any American city since the Civil War.
Federal troops and National Guardsmen imposed a strict curfew, worked riot control, patrolled the streets, guarded looted stores, and provided aid to those who were displaced by the rioting. They continued to remain after the rioting had officially ceased to protect against a second riot and further damage.[22][7][8]
I should have pinged you all on Post 236.
The “you all” may give away what side I am on, if anybody is in doubt.
If memory serves DC was not yet under self rule when LBJ was President. Congress was in charge of Washington DC, so as long as Congress agreed Johnson was free to use troops to maintain order.
Didn't seem to bother President Lyndon Johnson though when he sent troops to Washington, D.C.
A possibly significant factor may be that Lyndon Johnson's order of April 1968 was after he withdrew from running for reelection in March 1968.
The legal aspect of deploying troops to D.C. is different from a state. It is a Federal district. Article 4, Section 4, limits the Executive regarding states rights. D.C. does not have any rights of a sovereign state.
Trump may have some concern with political generals. When troops were ordered to stage in areas around D.C., the general ordered they do so without arms or bullets. The National Guard sent in to control protesters were unarmed (or disarmed by the Pentagon).
Many Guard members deployed in cities around the country carry personal weapons, but the D.C. guard made the decision for troops to remain unarmed to avoid being perceived as a hostile force, D.C. Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Brooks said in a statement to Military.com.
I believe it likely that the whole thing is a coordinated effort involving Lawfare, some state governors, and the people pulling the strings behind Antifa and BLM, with many of the protesters being unwitting useful idiots and opportunistic looters. It is likely that a draft Complaint for a lawsuit was made in advance, and a lawsuit would be filed within hours of troop deployment to an unwilling state. The Kabuki theater includes the complicit governors and mayors proclaiming that they have things under control, rather like Keven Bacon in Animal House, "all is well." CHAZ/CHOP is a street party, part of a summer of love.
This is all part of Campaign 2020.