Trump says it would be ‘great’ if ICE arrested Gavin Newsom amid Los Angeles protests
LOS ANGELES (Gray News) – Amid a feud over how to handle immigration protests in Los Angeles, President Donald Trump said it would be “great” if California Governor Gavin Newsom were arrested.
Multiple protests happened in Los Angeles on Sunday with thousands of people upset over ICE’s raids on undocumented immigrants in the area.
Trump deployed roughly 1,000 National Guard to the protests by Monday.
Tom Homan, the border czar, warned that anyone, including public officials, would be arrested if they obstructed federal immigration enforcement.
The California governor responded in an interview with MSNBC, saying, “Come after me, arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” referring to Homan.
Homan responded in an interview on Fox News, “No one’s above the law,” although he added that “there was no discussion” about arresting Newsom.
When asked about the exchange between the two, Trump grinned.
“I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Trump said. “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing. He’s done a terrible job.”
Newsom responded in a post on X, writing, “The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.”
Trump also described anyone who is taking part in the protests as “professional agitators.”
“The people that are causing these problems are professional agitators, they’re insurrectionists, they’re bad people. They should be in jail,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced plans Monday to sue the Trump istration, saying the state’s sovereignty was “trampled” by Trump because the state did not request the National Guard be deployed.
According to the Associated Press, this appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor.
Newsom said he also plans to file suit against the Trump istration for what he called “an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act,” AP reported.
In a post on his social media site, Trump said the city would have been “completely obliterated” otherwise.
Trump also wrote that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass should thank him. He accused them of being untruthful for saying National Guard troops weren’t necessary.
Trump wrote:
“The very incompetent ‘Governor,’ Gavin Newscum, and ‘Mayor,’ Karen Bass, should be saying, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.’”
Copyright 2025 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
