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 quell immigration raid rioters.
Trump has deployed approximately 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles, where they have aggressively confronted protesting crowds and have been authorized to make arrests.
The Governor claimed that Trump was responsible for inciting the violence, describing his actions as reminiscent of authoritarian regimes, and was subsequently dismissed as “incompetent.”
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 New York Post.
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.”
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.
“This is a day I hoped I would never witness in America. Regardless of whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, this is a boundary we must not cross as a nation; it represents a clear move towards authoritarianism.”
Trump follow up with a brutal takedown of Newsom’s record in office – which included blaming him for the devastating wild fires that ravaged parts of LA in January.
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.”
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.”
