President Trump declared Monday that if he were border czar Tom Homan, he would arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom — following anti-ICE riots that swept through Los Angeles.
Trump joked that Newsom’s “primary crime is running for governor since he’s done such a bad job,” saying, “I would do it, if I were Tom,” after returning to the White House from Camp David.
The president stated, “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,” following three nights of unrest in the second-largest city in the United States.
“I like Gavin Newsom. He’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent, everybody knows that.”
On Sunday night, Homan was challenged by Newsom to handcuff him, saying the Trump official should “come after me.” Put me under arrest. Tough guy, we should just get it over with.
In spite of his mocking invitation, the governor said on Monday that he was horrified to hear Trump mockingly support the proposal.
Newsom wrote, ““The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
For trying to stop ICE agents from deporting illegal migrants, Homan had threatened to charge Newsom and Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles.
Homan had threatened to say it about anyone on Saturday.
“You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”
Homan partially recanted the statement on Monday morning, claiming that his words were misconstrued and telling the Peacock Network that “I never threatened to arrest Governor Newsom.”
In an effort to quell protests, Trump on Saturday ordered the National Guard to deploy 2,000 troops.
According to a federal lawsuit filed Monday by Newsom’s administration, Trump violated California’s 10th Amendment rights by using a law that permits the federal government to take control of Guard troops during uprisings.
The president remarked of the violence shortly after the lawsuit was filed, “I wouldn’t call it quite an insurrection, but it could have led to an insurrection.”
Trump told reporters that he summoned the National Guard to stop the violence from getting out of control, comparing conflicts over ICE operations to the first nights of rioting in Minneapolis after police killed George Floyd in May 2020.
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“It was heading in the wrong direction. It’s now heading in the right direction,” Trump declared.
“If we didn’t do the job, that place would be burning down,” according to the president. “I watched Minneapolis burn [in 2020]… There’s so many different places where we let it burn. We wanted to be politically correct … I think Gavin, in his own way, is probably happy I got involved.”
On Sunday, the first military personnel were seen showing up on the scene as demonstrators set cars on fire and waved Mexican and other national flags in support of illegal migrants.
“We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated,” Trump wrote on Truth Social while travelling from the presidential retreat to Washington.
“The very incompetent ‘Governor,’ Gavin Newscum, and ‘Mayor,’ Karen Bass, should be saying, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.’ Instead, they choose to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are ‘peaceful protests.’”
“We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” the president continued.
