California Governor Newsom Taunts Trump Border Czar: ‘Arrest Me. Let’s Go.’

California Governor Gavin Newsom challenged the Trump’s administration’s Border Czar Tom Homan to arrest him on Sunday as tension continued to escalate between the federal and state authorities over immigration raids: “Come after me. Arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” Newsom said in a television interview, which he then posted on social media.

“The fear, the horror – [who] the hell is this guy,” he continued in an interview with NBC’s Jacob Soboroff. “I don’t give a damn. But I care about this community.”

The taunt escalated the ongoing war of words between Trump and his representatives and California officials over protests in Los Angeles.

In an interview with Soboroff on Saturday, Homan said that he would arrest officials who stood in the way of ICE officials continuing to arrest undocumented immigrants despite the chaos it was creating in parts of the city.

“I’ll say it about anybody,” Homan said, after Soboroff asked specifically if he would arrest officials like L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom if they “stand in the way of your enforcement operations.” 

Homan said: “You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”

Trump has sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests over federal arrests of undocumented individuals, with about 300 troops arriving on Sunday. This is the first time a president has sent the National Guard to a state without the governor’s request since the 1960s.  

On Sunday evening, Newsom issued a letter formally demanding the troops to be withdrawn and Trump’s memo rescinded.

Trump continued to feed the tensions late into Sunday night, tweeting on Truth Social: “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!”

Newsom was visibly angry in the interview as he accused Trump of creating a situation of chaos and instability in Los Angeles, which he then claimed to want to solve. But he said the conflict in L.A. was a piece of more sinister strategy to move toward authoritarianism.

“This is part of that ongoing play that is unfolding in front of our eyes, under the guise of immigration, but it’s much deeper than that,” he said. “This guy has abandoned the core principles of our democracy.  He’s on a cultural binge. He’s rewriting history. Censoring historical facts.”

Finally, he addressed Trump directly, saying:  “Where’s your decency Mr President – stop. It’s indecent. It’s immoral… This is a serious moment. It requires serious leadership. It is time for you to be commander in chief of America.”   

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