FRESNO, CA (KMJ) Tough talk, threats and dares. The escalation of the tension between the White House and Sacramento is at an all-time high.
Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to threats over the weekend by the Trump administration that he could be arrested if he interferes with ICE arrests of undocumented immigrants.
“He’s a tough guy, why doesn’t he do that? He knows where to find me,” Newsom said during an interview with MSNBC News on Sunday. Come after me, arrest me, let’s just get it over with. Tough guy. I don’t give a damn, but I care about my community… and I’m sorry to be so clear, but that kind of bloviating is exhausting. So Tom, arrest me.”
Newsom was referring to Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan. Homan responded Monday in an interview on Fox News.
“I’ll say about anybody,” 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.”
Homan told “Fox & Friends” on Monday that he had told an NBC reporter that “no one’s above the law,” but there was no discussion about arresting Newsom.
“What we discussed was for those protesters that crossed the line… you can protest, you get your First Amendment rights… But when you cross that line, you put hands on an ICE officer, or you destroy property, or I’d say that you impede law enforcement, or you’re knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien… that’s a crime, and the Trump administration is not going to tolerate it,” he said.
“Then the reporter asked me, well, could Governor Newsom or Mayor Bass be arrested? I said, ‘Well, no one’s above the law. If they cross the line and commit a crime, absolutely they can,’ so there was no discussion about arresting Newsom.”
Newsom threatened to block federal tax payments from his state on Friday, escalating tensions with President Donald Trump amid reports that the White House may cut federal funding to California. “Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump,” Newsom posted on X Friday.
