Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem went after California Governor Gavin Newsom for his “bad decisions” in light of the current immigration protests in Los Angeles.
Noem blamed the protests and violence that have occurred over the past several days on Newsom, telling CBS News’ Face the Nation Sunday that “if he was doing his job, then people wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
“We wouldn’t have officers with a shattered wrist from bricks being thrown through their vehicles, their vehicles being burned, flags being burned in the street, and Molotov cocktails being thrown,” Noem continued.
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The Trump administration announced on Saturday that it would be federalizing the National Guard, a military force that is typically requested by state governors, and deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
Neither Newsom nor Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass requested that the National Guard be deployed; the administration acted on its own accord.
But Noem said that the president made this decision because he prioritized the “safety” of the Los Angeles community.
“Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions. The president knows that he makes bad decisions, and that’s why the president chose the safety of this community over waiting for Governor Newsom to get some sanity,” Noem said.
“And that’s one of the reasons why these National Guard soldiers are being federalized, so they can use their special skill set to keep peace,” she noted.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also took a jab at Newsom in a social media post on Saturday when she announced that the National Guard was being federalized and sent to Los Angeles.
“In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,” she wrote on X.
She added that this “is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
Newsom, on his end, has repeatedly denounced the decision to call in the National Guard as “purposefully inflammatory,” claiming that it “will only escalate tensions” in the community.
“The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles—not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” Newsom wrote on X Saturday.
“Don’t give them one,” he warned. “Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.”
Newsom added that “this is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
Noem told Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan that her and the president’s “hope is always that we work with local leaders that would do their jobs.”
“And that is what has failed in L.A., is that the mayor has refused to recognize the dangerous situation that she’s perpetuating, as well as the governor,” she said.
She said that the “president cares deeply about family members that want to live in their communities and be safe,” which is why the administration made the executive decision to deploy the National Guard.
Noem further justified the administration’s move by claiming that “when we ask for backup in a situation,” the LAPD would take hours to respond, or only arrive when an officer was already in a “dangerous situation.”
“Oftentimes, in these cities, you have good leaders that help give backup to other law enforcement officers, but you have politicians who won’t give that kind of resource when it’s needed,” she noted.
Despite these claims, Newsom has repeatedly stated that California’s state government and law enforcement have everything under control, firmly stating that the federal government should not interfere.
“As the federal government conducts chaotic immigration sweeps across the country, the state is deploying additional CHP to maintain safety on Los Angeles highways to keep the peace,” he wrote Saturday, referring to California Highway Patrol. “It’s not their job to assist in federal immigration enforcement.
“The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves,” he said.
