Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom have condemned Vice President JD Vance for comments made during his visit on Friday to the city. Mayor Bass accused the Vice President of disrespecting Senator Alex Padilla by misnaming him, and confronted him for spreading division. "How dare you disrespect our senator?" Bass said, as reported by NBC Los Angeles. "You served with him today, and how dare you disrespect him and call him Jose, but I guess he just looked like anybody to you. Well, he's not just anybody to us. He is our senator."
In a speech that called out several of the Vice President's claims, Bass disputed the characterization of local protests and the behavior of federal agents in the city. "We kept the peace. You know that the federal officials who were here protected a federal building; they were not involved in crowd control," Mayor Bass stated as she described the situation in Los Angeles, according to KTLA. The mayor also addressed concerns about ICE agents, questioning the lack of identification on federal officials, who she said appear to drive unmarked cars with tinted windows, adding uncertainty and fear among residents.
Further, in response to Vice President Vance's suggestion that Los Angeles had become less secure and required federal intervention, Bass highlighted the peaceful nature of the city and the effectiveness of local law enforcement. "We were able to handle the violence and the vandalism that occurred. Our streets have been peaceful," Bass declared, while recognizing the disproportional scale of the unrest compared to the city's vast population. In terms of spreading fear and conflict, Bass remarked on her meetings with local business owners and families affected by recent raids, "I spent the day today meeting with businesses... and describing the situation as worse than COVID," according to a statement posted on the official Los Angeles Mayor's office website.
Gov. Newsom chimed in on the controversy as well, challenging Vance to a public debate over his remarks and accusing the Vice President of selective press access during his visit. "Since you’re so eager to talk about me, how about saying it to my face? Let’s debate. Time and place?" Newsom posted on Twitter, with the exchange picked up by NBC Los Angeles. In solidarity, Mayor Bass and the Governor stood firm against what they deemed an attempt to inject divisiveness, emphasizing the community's resilience and unity in the face of adversity.
