CNN Anchor Asks LA’s Mayor If She’s ‘Out of Touch’ When It Comes to Immigration Policy

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) joined CNN on Monday to discuss President Donald Trump federalizing and deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles amid anti-ICE protests, which devolved into violent rioting.

“You know, Mayor, the Trump border czar, Tom Homan, has now walked back some comments suggesting that you or Governor Newsom, for that matter, could face arrest if you obstruct federal authorities. How do you respond to Homan? And do you have any concerns potentially about being arrested?” began Wolf Blitzer.

“No, I’m not concerned about being arrested. And I can’t imagine an opportunity, I can’t imagine a situation where I am going to interfere with federal agents,” Bass replied, adding:

So it was something that was inappropriate to say. And what I am going to focus on is bringing our city together. We cannot allow ourselves to be divided. We are an international city. The diaspora from just about every country in the world lives here. And so this is a time to stand together.

And it’s also a time to appeal to the administration, please dial this back. This was not necessary. It has created a sense of fear. It feels deliberate. It’s like, how can I deliberately create chaos in a city? Nobody needs that right now.

After a quick back and forth about the scope of the protests, which Bass insisted was very limited to a few blocks and that the city was now “calm,” Pamela Brown turned to the politics of the moment.

“I want to share the CBS poll. It shows 54 percent of Americans approve of the Trump administration’s program to deport illegal immigrants. A minority, 46 percent, disapprove,” Brown noted, and asked, “Are Democrats out of touch on this issue?”

“Well, I think, if you did the polling in Los Angeles, I’m not sure it would be that way, considering we are a city of immigrants,” Bass replied, adding:

And then people might approve that policy, but do people really approve the federal government coming in and seizing power from a state and from a city? So I would drill down a little further on that poll, because I do not believe that Americans support the federal intervention and a city takeover or a state takeover.

“And just to be clear, the poll talks about American sentiment as it pertains to illegal immigration, but it does say that the majority of Americans, we should note, disapprove of sort of the — some of the tactics that are being used, to your point, Mayor Bass,” Brown concluded.

Watch the clip above via CNN.