‘I Would Do It’: Trump Says It Would Be ‘Great’ If His Border Czar Arrested Newsom

President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that it would be “great” if his border czar, Tom Homan, arrested California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom over the anti-ICE riots that hit Los Angeles County over the weekend.

Homan threatened Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass with arrest on Sunday if they “cross[ed]” the line” and impeded federal agents from arresting illegal immigrants. Asked about Homan’s comments, Trump said, “I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.”

“He’s done a terrible job,” the president added of Newsom. “Look, I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent.”

Newsom responded to Trump’s comments, saying they are “an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”

“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,” Newsom wrote on X. “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.”

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… pic.twitter.com/tsTX1nrHAu

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 9, 2025

On Sunday, Newsom dared Homan to arrest him, telling MSNBC, “He’s a tough guy. Why doesn’t he do that? He knows where to find me.”

“The hell are they doing? These guys need to grow up,” the governor continued. “They need to stop, and we need to push back. And I’m sorry to be so clear, but that kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let’s go,” he added. “But you know what? Let your hands off 4-year-old girls that are trying to get educated. Let your hands off these poor people. They’re just trying to live their lives, man. Trying to live their lives, paying their taxes. Been here for 10 years. The fear, the horror.”

Homan appeared to back down from his threat on Monday morning, saying there was no discussion about arresting the governor.

“What we discussed was for those protesters that crossed the line … you can protest, you get your First Amendment rights, but 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, and the Trump administration is not going to tolerate it,” Homan told “Fox & Friends.”

“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,” he added.

In a post on Truth Social earlier on Monday, Trump said Newsom and Bass should be thanking him for sending in the National Guard, a move he argues saved L.A. from getting “completely obliterated.” Both Newsom and Bass argued that there was no need to deploy National Guard troops to the city, and Newsom said that the state would file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the move. The governor said Trump’s move was “unconstitutional” and that the administration did not coordinate with his office before deploying the National Guard, a power typically exercised by governors.

Trump, however, could invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allows the president to federalize the National Guard and deploy the U.S. military to quell domestic disorder or violence.