‘I would do it’

President Trump said Monday he would arrest Gov. Gavin Newsom if he were Tom Homan, escalating a threat leveled against the California governor on Sunday.

“Gavin Newsom is daring Tom Homan to come and arrest him,” a reporter on the White House lawn asked Trump. “Should he do it?”

“I would do it if I were Tom, I think it’s great,” Trump said.

“Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it’d be a great thing. He’s done a terrible job. Look, I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent, everybody knows. All you have to do is look at the little railroad he’s building. It’s about a hundred times over budget. We’re putting a flag pole over there, under budget! I always do under budget,” Trump continued.

The White House Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, “border czar” for short, Tom Homan declared on Sunday that ICE would continue operations in Los Angeles regardless of the protests. Even elected officials would not be allowed to interfere with any ICE activity.

Homan threatened to arrest anyone who obstructs ICE, and when asked about Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Homan did not rule out arresting the two California officials if necessary.

“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 said in an interview with NBC.

Newsom responded in an interview with MSNBC later that evening.

“He’s a tough guy, why doesn’t he do that? He knows where to find me. Arrest me, let’s get it over with, tough guy. I don’t give a damn… that kind of bloviating is exhausting, so Tom, arrest me,” Newsom said.

In an interview with FOX, Homan then said he had never threatened to arrest Newsom in the first place.

“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,” Homan 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,” Homan continued.

Trump’s comments supporting an arrest came Monday afternoon, potentially reopening a discussion that Homan had closed.

Shortly afterwards, Newsom responded to Trump’s comment in a post on X.

“The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”

Newsom also announced California would sue the federal government over its federalization of the California National Guard, alleging illegal seizure of a state national guard without the consulting of its governor. Trump claims the seizure is legal due to the protests in LA qualifying as an “act of rebellion.”