The US president, who appears to be more than just playing bullies, has chosen Los Angeles. However, Mayor Karen Bass, who was not known until recently as the public brawler, is ducking punches and throwing his own jabs and uppercuts.
She accused President Trump of launching the protests he condemned and called Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem a liar for suggesting that LA was a mayhem city.
I had a conversation with her on Tuesday about what it would be like to deal with such a president, but before we could chat, she stepped onto the city hall podium, adjacent to leaders of labor, business and faith, and once again defended the lawn.
“It’s essentially a full-scale attack on Los Angeles,” Bass said, denounced the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit, accusing her and the city council of blocking the fight against the “illegal immigration crisis.” It’s a political stunt, Bass said several times, denying that protection of the city’s sanctuary is illegal.
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 2001. He has won over 12 National Journalism Awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.
“I know Los Angeles is a test case,” Bass said. “And we’ll stand strong, and we’ll do that because people snatch the streets of town and chase the parking lot, so our neighbors, our family, they’re Angeleno. Let’s be clear.
This was not the best year of Bass’ political career. It began with the destruction of the Pacific Palisades due to a wildfire that began while the bus was leaving town, and continued re-estimating questions about preparation for the LA disaster and who would lead the reconstruction efforts.
Throwing the prolonged catastrophe of fighting widespread homelessness and urban budget deficits, the bass appeared vulnerable in the 2026 re-elected bid.
Federal agents and troops arrived later, and the raid began on June 6th, with the base beginning to find scaffolding against type.
“Her natural instinct is to become a coalition builder to govern by consensus,” says Fernando Guerra, a professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University. But that doesn’t work with Trump.
Professor Sarasadwani, a political professor at Pomona College, said Trump is attacking “the heart and heart of Los Angeles,” and given the way the president’s actions unify many Angelenos, there may be unintended consequences. “I think the majority of Los Angeles can agree that what’s happening right now isn’t OK and is against our values,” Sadwani continued. “And Bass shows very strong leadership.”
President Trump worked with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after a fire briefing at Pacific Palisades on January 24th.
(Mark Sieferbein/Applications)
Even half a dozen Republican state lawmakers joined the opposition and sent a letter to Trump, suggesting that they focus on arresting real criminals rather than chasing after those who make up essential elements of the economy.
As Sadhwani pointed out, Republican lawmakers have long lamented the federal overreach and have argued in favor of state rights and local control. Still, the Trump administration is set to tell California and Los Angeles how to govern themselves. Recently, regarding sanctuary protection despite the court’s argument that it is protected under the 10th Amendment.
After Tuesday’s press conference, Bus retreated to her office and told me that her support for immigration began in the 1970s with her work as an activist.
“This is basically who I am, but of course having a family with a family” is also a factor in her politics regarding immigration. “My ex-husband was a Chicano activist. I have other families who are married to people from the Philippines in Korea and Japan. My family has a Greek side.”
When they gathered, she “looks like the UN General Assembly,” she said.
And that’s how Los Angeles looks, there’s a storyline that crosses the globe and transcends boundaries.
“I don’t see anyone [here] In places where we are seeking deportation, we can imagine this to be a very divisive issue in some cities,” Bass said.
I told her, “What do you know about the word illegal?” or from people who claim that relatives had legally waited and moved.
I understand those perspectives, I told Bass. But I understand the context. That is to seduce people to do so in the United States, which rely on immigrant labor and allow them to implicitly condemn it.
While serving in Congress, she said she witnessed tolls stemming from the separation of families along the border. She encountered “a sense of anxiety and abandonment that had been carrying trauma throughout her life.”
At the very least, the mayor said federal agents should “have to identify themselves, have to have a warrant, and they should stop picking up people randomly on the streets. [was to go after] A hardened criminal. Where are the hardened criminals? Are they chasing them through the parking lot at Home Depot? Are they washing their cars? i don’t think so. “
The US Marines served as security guard for the federal building at the corner of Veteran Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles on June 19th.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
In fact, the majority of Los Angeles arrests have no criminal history.
The cost of the raid in LA was wanted to point out a few points by the administration that vowed to reduce the government.
“You think about the young men and women in the National Guard. They leave their families, their jobs, their school. What for?” she asked. “It’s a misuse of the army, and it’s the same as the Marines. They’re not trained to deal with what’s going on on the streets. They’re trained to fight to kill enemies on foreign lands.”
While we spoke, Bass received an urgent call from her daughter Yvette Lechuga, who works as a senior management aide at Mount St. Mary’s University. Lechuga said the woman was arrested while she was off the shuttle.
“It looks like Ice has grabbed our students,” Luchuga said.
Bass said her staff would look into it.
“We were in semi-lockdown for a while,” Lechuga said.
“Jesus Christ,” the mayor said.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
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