Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday condemned President Donald Trump’s militarization of Los Angeles after recurring protests against an increase in immigration raids popped up there.
Trump stated Wednesday that the city would have been “burning to the ground” if he hadn’t sent the National Guard and Marines to the Southern California city against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Mayor Karen Bass (D). However, Schiff said Trump’s sentiment was a “flat-out lie.”
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“The idea that Los Angeles would have burned to the ground, it’s absurd,” Schiff told Kristen Welker in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “These demonstrations were taking place in a multi-block area in a city that is 500 square miles.”
He added that the local police, sheriff’s department and highway patrol were well-equipped to address the demonstrations.
“And if they weren’t, then the mayor and the governor would request the help of our Guard. That was not done. It was not necessary,” Schiff said. “And I think this is just Donald Trump doing what he wanted to do in the first administration, which was essentially use the military for domestic law enforcement, to make himself look tough.”
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“In the first administration, there were at least a few people in the Cabinet of some independence who could say, ‘No, Mr. President. That’s a lawless idea. That’s a stupid idea.’ But there’s no one in this current administration to tell the president, ‘That’s a stupid idea. It will make matters worse,’” he continued. “And so we are seeing this — this terrible escalation, this increasing lawlessness.”
Welker also asked about Schiff’s thoughts on a Thursday scuffle in which federal agents manhandled, handcuffed and removed Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference after he interrupted with a question.
Schiff defended Padilla for his interruption, saying he had “every right to do so.”
“That’s part of his oversight responsibilities,” Schiff said. “And for those of us that know Alex, and you would be hard-pressed to find a more beloved senator on either side of the aisle, respected by members on both sides of the aisle, you know, for his intellect, for his demeanor.”
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“And to see him mistreated that way and tackled to the ground and shackled that way and in the midst of what we’re seeing more broadly in Los Angeles is just atrocious. And I think all of us that work with him reacted with that kind of revulsion,” Schiff added.
