President Trump thinks it’s ‘great’ that Gavin Newsom could be arrested
President Donald Trump said Monday “I think it’s great” that federal border czar Tom Homan could arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Talking to reporters, the president made his comment after a reporter said, “Gavin Newsom is daring Tom Homan to come and arrest him. Should he do it?”
Trump said, “I’d do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity. ... He’s done a terrible job.
“I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy but he’s grossly incompetent, everybody knows,” Trump said.
Newsom says he’s ready.
“Come after me. Arrest me,” he told NBC News. “Let’s just get it over with, tough guy.”
“The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,” Newsom later posted on X. “This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
Later Monday, Trump was somewhat more conciliatory.
A reporter asked if he planned to send Marines to the Los Angeles area.
“We’ll see what happens. I mean, I think we have it very well under control. I think it would have been a very bad situation. It was heading in the wrong direction. It’s now heading in the right direction,” Trump said.
He added that “We hope to have the support of Gavin, because Gavin is the big beneficiary as we straighten out his problems. I mean, his state is a mess.“
Earlier, Trump was asked what his advisers say about those causing problems in Los Angeles. Are they people who immigration officials are trying to deport — or professional agitators?
“The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators, they’re insurrectionists. They’re bad people, they should be in jail,” Trump said.
Trump called out the National Guard to keep parts of Los Angeles calm after protests against federal efforts to seize undocumented immigrants.
Federalizing the Guard is highly unusual; it was last done in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson during a civil rights protest in Alabama.
Homan said he would have anyone getting in the way of the immigration enforcement arrested, even if it’s the governor.
“It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job,” Homan said.
Newsom shot back, telling NBC, “just get it over with” and arrest him.
Monday afternoon, the White House kept up the heat.
“Radical left lunatics are taking to the streets of Los Angeles — attacking law enforcement, hurling projectiles at police cruisers, burning vehicles, and shutting down freeways — because the Trump Administration is removing violent criminal illegal immigrants from their communities.,” a statement from the White House communication office said.
Democrats like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass should be thanking President Trump for stepping up and leading where they refused — and for ridding their streets of criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, and gangbangers,” it added.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged cooling the rhetoric.
“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. So it was something that was inappropriate to say,” she told CNN’s “Situation Room” Monday.
She also made a plea to the White House. “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,” Bass said.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 10:36 AM with the headline "President Trump thinks it’s ‘great’ that Gavin Newsom could be arrested."
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