From Los Angeles, Vance accuses Newsom of inciting protesters and endangering law enforcement

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance arrived Friday in Los Angeles to visit the Californian city amid the chaos in which it has been immersed in recent days as a product of numerous violent protests that have unleashed chaos and lawlessness. The Republican official visited the federal building in Westwood, where he held a press conference in which he issued statements on the raids executed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as on the objectives of President Donald Trump's administration on immigration. Similarly, Vance slammed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he publicly accused of endangering law enforcement after inciting protesters.

"You had people who were doing the simple job of enforcing the law, and they had rioters egged on by the governor and the mayor, making it harder for them to do their job. That is disgraceful. And it is why the president has responded so forcefully. What happened in Los Angeles, number one, because we've got to enforce our borders and get so many of these criminals out of our country to begin with. And number two, when you have violent agitators who make it impossible for the law enforcement to do their job, it is necessary to protect them and to defend them," Vance said.

Likewise, the vice president accused both Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of treating Border Patrol and the agencies charged with enforcing the nation's immigration laws as if they lack legitimacy. "So first of all, to set the table, we have a public official in Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who over the past few years have actively encouraged illegal migration into this community, have strained public services, have strained law enforcement, and really have offered generous benefits not to American citizens, but to illegal immigrants, to break the law, to come into our country and to receive generous public assistance for having done so," Vance explained.

Onslaught against Newsom and Alex Padilla

At another point in his press conference, Vance charged that law enforcement officers were being beaten and even captured by violent mobs, which were allegedly incited by Newsom, this being one of the reasons why Trump decided to deploy the National Guard. Likewise, the vice president had words against Senator Alex Padilla, whom he referred to as Jose Padilla. "Well, I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question. But unfortunately, I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't the theater. And that's all it is. You know, I think everybody realizes that's what this is. It's pure political theater. These guys show up, they want to be captured on camera doing something. They want to be able to go back to their far-left groups and to say, look, me, I stood up against border enforcement," said Vance, who also met with members of the U.S. Navy and local leaders.

After his press conference, Newsom publicly challenged Vance via his X account, in which he wrote: "Hey [J.D. Vance], nice of you to finally make it out to California. Since you’re so eager to talk about me, how about saying it to my face? Let’s debate. Time and place?" Similarly, Bass also had words against Vance, whom she branded a liar at a press conference in which she claimed the U.S. vice president was issuing a false narrative about the violent protests that have taken place in the city.

"The Vice President of the United States spent 3 or 4 hours in LA before holding a press conference and spewing lies and utter nonsense in an attempt to provoke division and conflict in our city," Bass said at the beginning of her speech, also claiming that the raids ordered by the Trump administration have caused panic among the city's residents, generating greater economic damage than during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Likewise, Bass accused Vance of disrespecting Padilla by calling him Jose. "You don't know his name, but yet you served with him before you were vice president. And you continue to serve with him today? Because the last time I checked, the Vice President of the United States is the president of the U.S. Senate. You serve with him today. And how dare you disrespect him and call him Jose. But I guess he just looks like anybody to you. Well, he's not just anybody to us. He is our senator," Bass said.