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The clash between the Trump administration and Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-CA, escalated Tuesday, as President Donald Trump said he personally called Newsom to demand better leadership amid the ongoing Los Angeles riots targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
“I called him up to tell him, ‘You got to do a better job,’” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s doing a bad job, causing a lot of death and a lot of potential death. If we didn’t send out the National Guard… Los Angeles would be burning right now.”
Trump also credited the National Guard, deployed to the city Sunday, with restoring order after the violent riots resulted in burned cars, vandalized buildings, attacks on police officers, and injuries.
“Last night they had total control,” Trump said. “We had some bad people… These are paid insurrectionists. These are paid troublemakers. They’re agitators. They’re paid. Do you think somebody walks up to a curb and starts hammering pieces out? Has all the equipment necessary and starts handing it out to people to use as a weapon?… And we ended it and we have in custody some very bad people.”
Tensions between Trump and Newsom had previously escalated after Newsom publicly taunted the administration over the weekend.
“Come after me. Arrest me,” Newsom said on NBC News. “Let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” alluding to Trump Border czar Tom Homan.
Asked Monday whether Newsom should be arrested after repeatedly opposing the administration’s actions, Trump told reporters, “I’d do it if I were Tom. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.”
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in Tuesday, posting on X in response to Newsom’s accusation that Trump’s comments signaled authoritarianism: “Do your job. That’s all we’re asking.”
While Homan later clarified there is no current plan to arrest the governor, he did not rule out prosecution for state officials who obstruct federal law enforcement.
“They haven’t crossed a line yet,” Homan told CBS News Monday. “If you cross that line, I don’t care who they are — the governor, the mayor, whatever — and when you commit a crime against ICE officers, we will seek prosecution.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson joined the discussion Tuesday, delivering a blistering condemnation of Newsom’s actions.
“I’m not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested. But he ought to be tarred and feathered,” Johnson said. “He’s standing in the way of the administration and the carrying out of federal law. He is applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys. He’s a participant and an accomplice in our federal law enforcement agents being not just disrespected but assaulted.”
“This is a serious problem, and the governor is now filing a lawsuit against the president. What a joke,” Johnson added. “Do your job… be a governor. Stand up for the rule of law.”
Newsom’s lawsuit, filed Monday, challenges the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles without state consent. His office claims the president “acted illegally to federalize the National Guard.”
