Senator Manhandled at Press Conference Claims LA ‘Crisis’ Created by Trump: ‘Get Us All Talking About Something Else’
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) has accused President Donald Trump of creating a “crisis” in Los Angeles to distract from his administration’s failures.
Padilla joined Pod Save America’s Tommy Vietor on Thursday after the senator was manhandled by Secret Service and FBI agents at a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Padilla interrupted the press conference, but identified himself as a senator. He was forcibly removed, brought to the ground, and handcuffed by agents, sparking outrage.
Speaking with Vietor, Padilla said he was objecting to recent actions taken by the administration, including Trump ordering the National Guard to respond to protesters in Los Angeles and the ICE raids and deportations that set off those protests in the first place. Padilla interrupted the press conference after Noem claimed the federal government was “liberating” the people of Los Angeles.
“There’s been so much attention on the way you were treated, rightly, I believe, that I think people are missing what she said that led you to speak up,” Vietor told the senator, then reading Noem’s words: “We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and burdensome leadership that this Gov. Newsom and this mayor placed on this country.”
Padilla said he’s in regular contact with Los Angeles top law enforcement officials and they are “frustrated” with how the administration is painting what they see as relatively contained protests.
“Los Angeles is no stranger to protests and demonstrations and rallies and marches and they know how to handle this. But the presence and the hostility of the administration is what’s fanning the flames. This is a crisis of Trump’s own making,” Padilla said.
The senator argued that “bad news all around” encouraged Trump to play up a “crisis” in Los Angeles.
Padilla said:
There’s no peace between Russia and Ukraine. There’s no solution in Gaza. There’s the impact of the tariff wars because he’s failing at every turn. He’s broken up with his BFF, Elon Musk, and so what does he do? He always finds a distraction, and when all else fails, he goes back to demonizing and scapegoating immigrants. There’s a horrible budget bill working its way through Congress, right? As we were successful in letting people know what this could mean for your healthcare, what this can mean for housing, what this mean for the social safety net, and all for what, to fund additional tax breaks for billionaires, he creates a crisis to get us all talking about something else.
Padilla added he’s concerned about oversight in regards to immigration, especially after he was manhandled by officials while cameras were rolling.
“What worries me even more is if they can do this to United States Senator, imagine what they’re doing out there when the cameras are not on and what they’re capable of doing in any corner of the country unless or until they’re checked.”
Watch above via Pod Save America.
