JD Vance slams Gavin Newsom over politicizing LA riots

Vance touched on the ongoing anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and directly criticized Newsom for how poorly he's handled the situation.

Asked whether Newsom was trying to be arrested over his defiance of federal immigration enforcement, Vance said: “I think probably, it would probably help his 2028 Democratic primary prospects. That’s all he seems to think about is politics. But I really would love for Gavin Newsom to just do his job because California, it's such a beautiful state, it's so much potential, but what’s happening in LA is a disgrace—and I think it traces directly back to him and [Mayor] Karen Bass’s leadership.”

The remarks came a few days after President Donald Trump, during a press availability on the White House law,n responded to Newsom daring border czar Tom Homan to arrest him. Speaking to reporters, Trump said that if he were Homan, he would consider arresting Newsom over his obstruction of ICE’s operations in California.

“Just get it over with,” Newsom responded to Trump, after hearing the president’s comments apparently daring the president to arrest him.

Newsom has claimed the federal government’s actions have caused fear in communities and that sending in the National Guard has only made things worse. “It’s mass panic out here in the nation’s largest county, in the nation’s largest state,” he said. “Good, hardworking people, decent people. These are not the criminals. These are not the thugs.”

As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, JD Vance remains the frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election according to aggregated betting markets, but Gavin Newsom has seen a notable bump in his odds.

Data from ElectionBettingOdds.com shows Vance holding a 23.4 percent chance of winning the presidency in 2028, with odds currently at +327. Newsom, however, has jumped 2.8 percentage points in just the past week, now sitting at an 8.2 percent chance (+1,120).

New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is currently the third most likely contender, with a 6.5 percent chance (+1,438), followed by Pete Buttigieg at 5.0 percent.