Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) condemned Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) response to the weekend riots following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles, arguing that President Donald Trump is fulfilling Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s duties due to his inaction.
2,000 National Guard members arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday morning after being deployed the night before by Trump, who signed a presidential memorandum in response to the riots being held to combat his administration’s deportation efforts. While appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, Mullin criticized Newsom for being “very weak” in failing to enforce the law against illegal immigrants, arguing that if a governor or Los Angeles mayor does not work to protect citizens, “then the president will.”
Recommended Stories
- LA anti-ICE riots are latest instance of Democrats 'on the wrong side': Joe Concha
- CA Democrat claims ICE agents were first to 'escalate the situation' amid LA riots
- National Guard arrives in Los Angeles to combat ICE protests following Trump order
CNN anchor Dana Bash responded by citing comments from the Los Angeles County police saying the protests are “under control,” as well as Newsom’s claims that the National Guard would only “escalate” the protests. The Oklahoma senator suggested that “words are cheap,” and argued that footage of the riots “absolutely” indicates the protests are not under control.
“You saw rioters throwing rocks, throwing fireworks, and being extremely aggressive towards not just federal agents, but even the county and the local PD that was there,” Mullin explained. “So does it look like it‘s under control? Absolutely not. The difference between what you‘re seeing during the riots back in, what was it, ‘96? I forget what year it was, or ‘92, to where we are today, is that the governor was actually working with the president of the United States. Now you have a governor that isn‘t, and once again, California’s became, basically, a sanctuary state, and the American people don‘t want that.”
Mullin stressed that the Trump administration’s deportation efforts underscore the need to pass the president’s “big, beautiful bill” to secure the border. He pointed to the Los Angeles anti-ICE riots and how some footage has shown “illegals” protesting while carrying “a foreign flag.”
Bash then claimed that the weekend’s riots in Los Angeles are “so different” from the city’s riots in 1992, which were held in response to the acquittal of four police officers after the beating of Rodney King. Mullin pushed back and insisted that the most recent riots are “not under control,” and that Trump is “absolutely right.”
“I can‘t say this enough: This is why the American people elected President Trump, because we are moving in the right direction,” Mullin stated. “And we are laser focused on continuing to do that, and that is why we want to pass this big piece of legislation that is going to move the American people even further down the track and geting us back on track and getting us away from the disastrous policies of the Biden Administration.”
CA DEMOCRAT CLAIMS ICE AGENTS WERE FIRST TO ‘ESCALATE THE SITUATION’ AMID LA RIOTS
Ahead of the National Guard’s arrival to Los Angeles, Trump congratulated the members for doing a “great job.” He also dished criticism to Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, saying they were “unable to handle the task.”
Illegal criminal aliens and violent mobs have been committing arson, throwing rocks at vehicles, and attacking federal law enforcement for days.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) June 8, 2025
Gavin Newsom has done nothing to stop this violence.
He should be thanking President Trump for bringing law and order to California… https://t.co/uO01VFQQbK
Like Trump, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned Newsom’s response to the riots, writing on X that the governor has “done nothing to stop this violence.” She added that Newsom ought to thank the president for bringing order back to California, “a basic value,” she said the governor and other Democrats “have failed to uphold.”