Liberal mainstream media figures on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump's immigration policies and speculated it could be the motive behind a shooting near the White House that resulted in two National Guard members being hospitalized in critical condition. 

The guardsmen were transported to local hospitals in Washington, D.C., and the suspect, an Afghan National, is in custody. No motive has been identified, but authorities have described it as a "targeted attack."

New Yorker magazine writer Jane Mayer was among the first to blame the Trump  policies, and she drew the ire of the White House.

“This is so tragic, so unnecessary, these poor guardsmen should never have been deployed,” Mayer wrote on X. “I live in DC and watched as they had virtually nothing to do but pick up trash. It was for political show and at what a cost.”

The Trump White House rapid response account fired back soon afterwards.

“You sick, disgusting ghoul. Two of these heroes were just SHOT IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. The Guard has saved countless lives — backed up by evidence (which you’re clearly too stupid to notice). They are American Patriots,” the account said.

ABC's chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky appeared to indicate that the motive for the shooting could be because the shooter was unhappy with Trump's immigration policies. 

"Focus will turn to whether these guardsmen were specifically targeted," Katersky said. "If that's the case, it would fit with what we've been hearing from law enforcement officials for a number of months now that some political flashpoints in the country, whether that's immigration policies by the administration, the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, even amid a tenuous cease fire.

"Those kinds of flashpoints have made people in uniform, be they military, law enforcement, government officials, people in uniform have increasingly been targets, and that is going to be one focus of the investigation going forward," he added.

Law enforcement officials have not specified a motive for the shooting so far.

CNN's Andrew McCabe claimed many National Guard troops do not have law enforcement backgrounds, which added to the "confusing scene" in the shooting because they might know how to respond to an armed attacker.

"These are folks who have basically been thrown into a pseudo-law enforcement function, most of whom don't really have law enforcement backgrounds," he said. "That adds, I think, a real wild card element to this this thing. We don't really know how those folks would respond if confronted with a violent incident on the street with an armed person. 

"So, there's a lot of, variability, I think, in the ... platform here," he continued. "So, we'll have to just wait to see what, what more facts develop from the investigation."

National Guard troops have been stationed in Washington, D.C., since the summer in order to help the Trump administration crack down on violent crime in the district. 

MS-NOW's Katy Tur highlighted alleged conflict between the National Guard and the Trump administration, claiming that anonymous guard members were confused about their deployment in the capital, which former Capitol Police Chief Tom Manager appeared to confirm.

“It really is no secret that many of the National Guard folks, don't understand what the purpose of their being there is," Manger said. "I know that I'll have quick interactions with them when I see them occasionally. And, you know they'll roll their eyes. You know, one of them said that he thought it was a waste of time ... I think they understood at first when they were deployed there with all the other federal resources. 

"But then so many of the federal resources have been pulled back out of D.C. and yet, the National Guard has stayed there," he continued. "I don't feel like there's tension with the public and the National Guard or with their presence. But I do think that many of them wonder why they're there, what their purpose is and how long they're going to be there."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.