Trump doesn't rule out arresting California Gov Gavin Newsom over LA riot chaos and says he had to save city from mob
DONALD Trump refused to rule out arresting California Governor Gavin Newsom over his handling of the Los Angeles riots.
The pair have been trading blows since Newsom slammed Trump's decision to send federal troops into the city to
8
Trump and Newsom have publicly fought over the President's decision to send federal troops to LA
Credit: Getty
8
A Waymo vehicle burns amid the warzone scenes
Credit: AFP
8
Trump refused to rule out arresting California Governor Gavin Newsom
Credit: PodForce1 / Youtube
8
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an address on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Office of California Governor via AP)
Credit: AP
Trump has sent around 4,000 of the National Guard and 700 Marines into LA, where they have
The Governor accused Trump of manufacturing the flare-ups, saying his actions were "akin to authoritarian regimes" - and was dismissed as "incompetent" in return.
He vowed his state is "suing Donald Trump" for "creating fear and terror to [...] violate the US constitution".
Trump has previously toyed with the idea of arresting Newsom, and refused to rule it out in an interview with the
read more on los angeles
Trump's border czar Tom Homan had warned that anyone, including public officials, would be arrested if they obstructed federal
law
enforcement.
On Sunday, Newsom goaded Trump over the threats, saying in a MSNBC interview: "Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy."
Asked directly if he is going to arrest and charge Gavin Newsom, Trump said: "Well, he's not doing a good job.
"In theory you could, I guess. It's almost like a dissipation of duties. Nobody's ever seen anything like it."
Most read in The US Sun
Before Wednesday's interview, Newsom shared his thoughts on the arrest threats.
He said: "The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor.
Anti-ICE raid protest carnage spreads across US as Texas deploys National Guard & LA declares curfew after riots
"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."
Trump follow up with a brutal takedown of Newsom's record in office - which included blaming him for
Trump said: "First he had his wildfires that burned down half the place [...] I told them water, get the water from the pacific
north west
[...] I got the water to go down.
"They were using environmental as a reason not to give water. They were protecting a certain type of fish - which by the way has not done well.
"He should have done it [redirected the water supply] in my first term. You wouldn't have had the fires."
8
There are approximately 4,700 federal troops in LA at Trump's orders
Credit: EPA
8
The rioters are protesting against Trump's crackdown on undocumented migrants
Credit: Reuters
8
The Marines and National Guard have been sent to assist local police
Credit: The Mega Agency
Interviewer Miranda Devine then asked about a much-disputed phone call between Trump and Newsom - with each swearing to a different version of events.
The President claimed he rang to discuss sending in National Guardsmen - but Newsom branded him a "stone-cold liar".
Newsom insists he "kept trying to bring up" the situation in LA, but that Trump veered onto other subjects.
However, Trump doubled down today and said: "Of course I did [talk about it]. The phone call was to deploy the troops.
"I said: 'You're city is burning down, your state is in bad trouble.'
"All I want is him to do a good job [...] he's doing a poor job."
In an effort to checkmate Newsom, Trump brandished a screenshot showing a 16-minute call between the two at 1:23am on June 7.
Newsom does not dispute that the call happened - but maintains that Trump "never once brought up the National Guard".
Trump landed other personal jibes, mocking the California High-Speed Rail project which has run over budget and claiming that, without him, Newsom "wouldn't have LA".
He said: "Between the fires and the riots, there would be nothing left. You have a governor that's incompetent, a mayor that's highly incompetent."
8
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
US Senator forced out of news conference after asking Trump official about targeting immigrants
LAST UPDATE | 21 mins ago A US SENATOR from California was forcibly removed after interrupting a news conference being held by the US homeland security chief Kristi Noem. Noem was speaking about the immigration arrests that have rocked Los Angeles and led to mass protests in the city against US President Donald Trump's policies. Trump has been criticised by Democratic Party members and state officials in California for sending US Marines and the National Guard to assist police in its response to the mass protests. Demonstrators were protesting Trump's immigration policies, which have been paired with a crackdown on illegal immigration and a heavy-handed response from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. During the press conference, Padilla can be heard trying to ask Noem about the targeting of immigrants. Footage of the incident showed security agents forcing Senator Alex Padilla, one of two Democratic senators representing California, to the floor and handcuffing him. 'I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' he said as two men pushed and shoved him from the room. FULL clip of agents throwing Sen. Alex Padilla to the ground and handcuffing him. Officers threw him and held him to the ground even while he is seen as not resisting. Footage from Sen. Padilla's staff [image or embed] — Prem Thakker ツ ( @ ) 12 June 2025 at 19:55 Padilla said he had not planned to attend the press conference, but decided to enter the room after learning it was located in the same building where he had pre-arranged meetings with federal officials. Advertisement 'We have repeatedly asked the Trump administration for answers on the deployment of military forces and the needless escalation in Los Angeles over the last week – and we have gotten limited answers,' he said this evening. 'I attended Secretary Noem's press conference in hopes of getting some answers,' he said, adding that he was 'aggressively pushed out of the room' after identifying himself and posing his question. 'If that's what they do to a United States Senator with a question, image what they can do to any American who dates to speak up. We will hold this administration accountable,' he added.' 'Outrageous' Many Democratic Party figures have reacted to the footage of the incident this evening. California Governor Gavin Newsom – who is in a vicious row with Trump over the President's response to the protests in Los Angeles – called the actions outrageous. 'This is outrageous, dictatorial and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,' he wrote on social media. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the episode 'absolutely abhorrent and outrageous'. 'He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration's violent attacks on our city must end,' she said. Former Presidential candidate and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the incident was 'utterly unacceptable in the United States of America'. 'As a former Senator, I'm calling on all current members to speak out on behalf of Senator Padilla and defend him and the Senate against these outrageous attacks,' she said on X Noem's press conference came after almost a week of protests in Los Angeles sparked by an immigration crackdown ordered by Trump. The White House responded with overwhelming force, sending 4,700 troops to the city despite objections from local officials and the police, who said they had the manpower and ability to handle the demonstrations. © AFP 2025 , with reporting by Muiris Ó Cearbhaill
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
The red tape Ireland's entrepreneurs face must be reviewed
US president Trump's tariffs merry-go-round continues to dominate global headlines. Firms are weary of the oscillation between 'tariffs-on' and 'tariffs-off' — but this pattern shows no sign of abating. It's a truism at this stage, but uncertainty has become the new normal. Understandably, there is concern among Irish policymakers, and indeed the general public, as to what the new economic dispensation will mean for Ireland's FDI-led economic model. FDI companies operating in Ireland deeply value their presence here and the contribution this has made to their business. Many companies have invested heavily in Ireland and dismantling investment of this nature and locating it somewhere else is not easily done, even if firms were minded to do so. And though we don't detect any appetite of this nature in the market there is an issue, however, in relation to further growth of Ireland's stock of FDI in future. The continuing uncertainty is having an impact on firms' investment decisions as they look to incorporate a 'wait-and-see' approach. In this context, it is important to look at Ireland's capability to continue to deliver economic and employment growth in a (still hypothetical) world where the level of FDI is lower than it has been. The health and prosperity of our homegrown businesses will be vitally important in this scenario. Ireland has a track record of generating world-beating businesses, but the reality is the current policy environment is not calibrated to achieve our full potential in this area. Successive governments have sought to introduce various policies to foster more entrepreneurship. Adjustments are made year-to-year across budgets, but the day-to-day reality has been that the design of some of these schemes is not suitable to achieve the desired ends. Tax practitioners like myself and my colleagues are seeing this on a regular basis as we seek to help clients utilise these schemes. KEEP scheme Take the KEEP scheme for example. This is designed to enable companies to grant share options to employees on a tax-efficient basis, essentially so the share is taxed within the capital gains bracket rather than the income tax bracket. Granting share options to employees is a good way of supplementing their remuneration in an environment where large firms with deep pockets are competing for the same talent. The issue with KEEP, unfortunately, is it is not working in practice; take-up is extremely low. What we see in our practice is that firms will tend to opt for so-called 'unapproved' share schemes rather than KEEP, even though the unapproved schemes are taxed more heavily from the perspective of the employee. Why are they doing this? The biggest reason we can see is the limit that attaches to the total value of share options that can be issued to an individual employee (€300,000). There is also a limit of €6m on the total amount of share options that can be issued (across all employees) and unexercised at any point in time. These limits restrict firms' ability to offer really competitive packages across their companies. Instead, they are opting for unapproved schemes that mean employees can be offered a higher value of share options, albeit in a less tax-efficient manner. The UK equivalent of KEEP, which has much less red tape attached, works much better, and the Government should look to draw lessons from it. Angel investor scheme On March 1, the Government commenced the new angel investor relief scheme which aims to incentivise investment in startups by reducing capital gains tax to 16%-18% on the sale by angel investors of these investments. It is early days, but we are not optimistic for take-up. Again, there is a lot of administration work involved for the small firms that are the targeted beneficiaries. They need to hold two certificates, showing they are an innovative company that is a going concern, and obtaining these involves an application process which many companies would need to undertake. In addition, investment by family members, a common source of funding for early-stage companies, has restrictions attached. Taken together, we believe these will serve as a significant brake on uptake of this scheme. A relaxation of the restrictions on family members and a self-declaration process allowing firms to obtain the qualifying certificates would be preferable. Another way to increase take-up would be to allow the relief to apply where investment is directed towards follow-on or expansion funding, rather than simply angel investment. The above are two examples of how Ireland's policy regime could be enhanced to encourage more entrepreneurship. There are others, including changes to the oft-criticised entrepreneur's relief scheme. We know we have a fantastic, knowledgeable, skilled and talented workforce. We are lucky to have it. But at a time like now, when the outlook for growth in FDI is hazy, it's important that we consider how to drive homegrown businesses forward. In this regard, a wholesale government review of policies towards entrepreneurship is warranted. Brendan Murphy is a tax partner at Baker Tilly Ireland
Irish Daily Star
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Star
JD Vance's awkward joke to wife Usha falls flat - 'Could you be any more unaware?'
JD Vance and Donald Trump attended the opening night of Les Miserables at the Kennedy Center last night - but a joke the VP shared on X didn't go down well with social media users A joke JD Vance shared with his wife, Usha, fell flat after the Vice President posted it on social media. Last night, the politician attended the opening night of Les Miserables at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC with President Donald Trump. Just before the show began, JD Vance wrote on X that he had asked his wife what the show was about - and joked that he asked her whether it was the story of "a barber who kills people," which made Usha laugh. But the VP then responded to his own tweet, writing, "That's apparently a different thing called 'Sweeney Todd.'" The joke didn't go down well with users on X, where critics hit out at the VP as well as Trump. One wrote, "Could you be any more unaware? Americans are being evacuated for war and our highest elected officials are watching plays." "I don't get what this tweet was supposed to accomplish?" one asked, while another said, "This is so cringe." Someone else wrote, "Your wife is the only person who thinks you're funny." One added, "Usha was laughing AT you. Not with you." A person said, "Les Miserables…a story of someone imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread. Maybe you'll understand the plight of the lower class after seeing the show, JD. But your date, POTUS, is unable to comprehend things like that." One more said, "So the country appears to be melting down and ur off to a show. Sounds like the priorities are where they should be." Last night it was Trump's first time attending a show at the Kennedy Center since his election - and he was booed and cheered as he took his seat alongside Melania Trump. Near the end of the intermission, someone loudly cursed his name, drawing applause. Several drag queens were in the crowd, their presence a protest against Trump's complaints that the Kennedy Center had hosted too many drag shows in the past. Despite the condemnation, the event had a MAGA-does-Broadway feel as it was attended by Ric Grenell, the Trump-appointed interim leader of the Kennedy Center, as well as the VP and his wife. Trump walked the red carpet with the First Lady when they arrived at the theater, which he's been remaking in his image while excising what he describes as liberal ideology. "We want to bring it back, and we want to bring it back better than ever," Trump said. The Republican President has a particular affection for Les Miserables, the sprawling musical set in 19th-century France, and has occasionally played its songs at his events. One of them, Do You Hear the People Sing?, is a revolutionary rallying cry inspired by the 1832 rebellion against the French King. The three-hour production featured singing and dancing, with the sounds of explosions and gunfire filling the theater as protesters and soldiers clashed on stage. For Trump's critics, it was an unnerving echo of what's unfolding in Los Angeles, where Trump has deployed National Guard troops in response to protests over his deportation policies. "Someone explain the plot to him," California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, wrote on social media. Terry Gee, a bartender, bought his ticket for the show in November and didn't mind Trump's presence. It was his sixth time seeing Les Miserables and he said, "I'm going to enjoy the show regardless." Attendee Hannah Watkins only learned that Trump would be there when the Kennedy Center distributed information about extra security and she searched online to see what was happening. "I've seen a lot of famous people so far, which is exciting," said the nurse, who had claimed a spot near the VIP entrance with her mother. "Honestly, we just like 'Les Mis' and are excited to be here."
