‘He’s Aware Of The Senator’s Name’: LA Mayor Karen Bass Gives Coy Answer On Whether Vance Was Racist to Padilla

MSNBC’s Eugene Daniels put Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) on the spot by plainly asking whether Vice President JD Vance was being “racist” when he referred to Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) as “Jose.”

During a trip to Los Angeles this week, Vance referred to Padilla as “Jose” while speaking to reporters. He later doubled down on the crack through a spokesperson’s statement to CNN, explaining, “He must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.” There is an actual Jose Padilla who is a convicted terrorist.

On MSNBC’s The Weekend, Bass called Vance’s trip to Los Angeles a “disrespectful” photo op, accusing him of painting a false chaotic picture of the city due to recent anti-ICE protests, which led to a curfew for a limited area that has since been lifted.

Daniels said during the interview that “Black and Brown communities being misnamed” often has underlying racist notes.

“The conversation around this that people are having online, folks that I talked to, even just in the last, you know, hours since it happened, is that it’s racist. Do you think that JD Vance was being racist to Alex Padilla?” he asked.

Bass did not outright say Vance was racist, but argued he definitely knows the senator’s name and she can think of no reasonable explanation for why he would have gotten it wrong.

“Well, let me just tell you that I know that he is aware of the senator’s name and there was no reason for him to do that at all just like there was no reason for him to accuse me and the governor of actually contributing to the problem we had,” she said.

Vance’s comment came while he was accusing Padilla of putting on political “theater” during a press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem where he was manhandled and put in handcuffs by Secret Service and FBI agents after interrupting Noem.

Bass went on to accuse the current administration of deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles to deal with protests as an “experiment” in “seizing power.”

“We had a couple of days of vandalism. We were able to control the situation. The National Guard was never needed here. This has all been a political stunt, but I also think it’s been a test,” she said. “It’s been a test to see how much will the American public put up with a president and an administration that comes in and seizes power from a governor, something that was completely unnecessary in our city.”

Padilla also appeared on The Weekend where he rebuked Vance over him referring to the senator as “Jose.”

“He knows my name. Look, sadly, it’s just an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is,” he said.

Check out the exchange below:

EUGENE DANIELS: Mayor Bass, you know, in black and brown communities being misnamed often has some underlying tendencies. And, and, you know, the conversation around this that people are having online, folks that I talked to, even just in the last, you know, hours since it happened, is that it’s racist. Do you think that JD Vance was being racist to Alex Padilla?

KAREN BASS: Well, let me just tell you that I know that he is aware of the senator’s name and there was no reason for him to do that at all just like there was no reason for him to accuse me and the governor of actually contributing to the problem. We had a couple of days of vandalism. We were able to control the situation. The National Guard was never needed here. This has all been a political stunt, but I also think it’s been a test. It’s been a test to see how much will the American public put up with a president and an administration that comes in and seizes power from a governor, something that was completely unnecessary in our city.

Watch above via MSNBC.