Vance stirs the pot in California, after a tense week

Perth Now

8 hours ago

Vice President JD Vance has used an appearance in Los Angeles to renew criticism of the city's officials over violent unrest there, and rebut claims that it was fuelled by the Trump administration sending in federal officers.
Vance also referred to US Senator Alex Padilla, the state's first Latino senator, as 'Jose Padilla,' a week after the Democrat was forcibly tackled and handcuffed by officers for speaking out during a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
"I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question," Vance said, in an apparent reference to the altercation at Noem's event. "I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't a theatre."
In a statement on X, California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to Vance's reference to "Jose Padilla," saying the comment was no accident.
Jose Padilla also is the name of a convicted al-Qaida terrorism plotter during President George W Bush's administration, who was sentenced to two decades in prison.
A spokesperson for Padilla, Tess Oswald, noted in a social media post that Padilla and Vance were formerly colleagues in the Senate and that Vance should know better. "He should be more focused on demilitarising our city than taking cheap shots," Oswald said.
Responding to the outrage, Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, said of the vice president: "He must have mixed up two people who have broken the law."
Vance's visit to Los Angeles to tour a multi-agency Federal Joint Operations Centre and a mobile command centre came as demonstrations calmed down in the city and a curfew was lifted this week.
Vance echoed the president's harsh rhetoric toward California Democrats as he sought to blame them for the protests in the city.
"Gavin Newsom and (Los Angeles Mayor) Karen Bass, by treating the city as a sanctuary city, have basically said that this is open season on federal law enforcement," Vance said after he toured federal immigration enforcement offices.
"What happened here was a tragedy," Vance added. "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.'
Newsom's spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in a statement, "The Vice President's claim is categorically false. The governor has consistently condemned violence and has made his stance clear."
At City Hall, Bass said Vance was "spewing lies and utter nonsense." She said hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted by the federal government on a "stunt."
The friction in Los Angeles began June 6, when federal agents conducted a series of immigration sweeps in the region that have continued since. Amid the protests and over the objections of state and local officials, Trump ordered the deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city.
Trump has said that without the military's involvement, Los Angeles "would be a crime scene like we haven't seen in years."
Earlier Friday, Newsom urged Vance to visit victims of the deadly January wildfires while in Southern California and talk with Trump, who earlier this week suggested his feud with the governor might influence his consideration of $40 billion in federal wildfire aid for California.
"I hope we get that back on track," Newsom wrote on X. "We are counting on you, Mr Vice President."