Gavin Newsom trolls Trump — and MAGA goes nuts - nj.com

President Donald Trump talks with California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)AP

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) trolled President Donald Trump and his supporters over the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Protests broke out in Los Angeles last week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids swept through the city. The demonstrations later escalated after Trump deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops to quell the protests on Saturday.

Many Democrats and Trump critics have jabbed Trump over his stunning response to protests in Los Angeles compared to his response to the Jan. 6 insurrection. The National Guard did not arrive at the Jan. 6 riot until hours after local law enforcement requested the troops.

Newsom joined the chorus of critics on Monday by taking a swing at U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Amid the ongoing protests, Jordan posted on social media platform X: “We fly the American flag in America.”

A number of Los Angeles protesters have been spotted carrying the Mexican flag during the demonstrations. However, Newsom responded with photos of Jan. 6 rioters attacking the U.S. Capitol during the 2021 attack.

“Like this?”, he wrote.

Like this? https://t.co/9MTOZzMpv8 pic.twitter.com/x6C4yAADew

MAGA supporters did not like Newsom’s quip.

Many users shared photos from the recent Los Angeles demonstrations of protesters waving the Mexican flag in response to the immigration raids.

A MAGA supporter lashed out at Newsom over the post: "LET ME TAKE DOWN YOUR MEMORY LANE! @GavinNewsom NO ONE BURNED OR SPIT ON THE AMERICAN FLAG ON JANUARY 6, 2021!“.

One user wrote: “Even when some of us are breaking the law they’re breaking it for their love for this nation. THE SAME CANNOT HE SAID ABOUT LOS ANGELES RIGHT NOW.Not a single American flag in sight..”

Another user celebrated the photos of Jan. 6: ″Yeah, like that! That was the most patriotic day I’ve ever seen Washington DC and I grew up there. The only problem was whoever the FBI inserted an antifa dressing like Maga."

More than 1,200 people were convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack, including about 200 who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement officers. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the deadly Capitol riot, which left one protester dead and more than one hundred police officers injured, was peaceful.

Trump pardoned about 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, including those convicted of assaulting police officers, on his first day of his second term earlier this year.

Newsom also targeted the Trump administration for pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters in a social media post in response to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

“The only people defending insurrectionists are you and @realDonaldTrump. Or, are we pretending like you didn’t pardon 1500 of them?” he wrote on X.

The only people defending insurrectionists are you and @realDonaldTrump.Or, are we pretending like you didn’t pardon 1500 of them? https://t.co/0kinmoOdeJ

Trump has also ordered an additional 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to respond to the protests despite Newsom’s wishes.

An initial 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Trump started arriving Sunday, which saw the most violence during three days of protests driven by anger over Trump’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are breaking apart migrant families.

Monday’s demonstrations were far less raucous, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids across the city.

Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth. They say he is putting public safety at risk by adding military personnel even though police say they don’t need the help.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement he was confident in the police department’s ability to handle large-scale demonstrations and that the Marines’ arrival without coordinating with the police department would present a “significant logistical and operational challenge” for them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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