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President Donald Trump suggested he would be willing to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom if his administration obstructs ICE operations amid riots in Los Angeles on Monday.
Trump made the statement in a brief exchange with reporters after disembarking from Marine One outside the White House. Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump whether he though Border Czar Tom Homan should take up Newsom on his dare to come arrest him.
“He’s daring Tom Homan to come and arrest him. Should he do it?” Doocy asked.
“I would do it I were Tom,” Trump responded. “I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity. But I do think it would be a great thing. He’s done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom. He’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent. Everybody knows.”
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President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Trump went on to state his belief that many of the rioters and protesters in Los Angeles are professional agitators rather than real protesters.
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“The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators. They’re insurrectionists. They’re bad people. They should be in jail,” Trump said.
Newsom swiftly responded to Trump’s comments in a post on social media.
“The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,” Newsom wrote. “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.”
Homan told “Fox & Friends” earlier on Monday that he had told an NBC reporter that “no one’s above the law,” but there was no discussion about arresting Newsom at that time.
“What we discussed was for those…
