Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) worries about what will happen to people who question the Trump administration, who aren’t senators, and when the cameras are off.
His comments came just days after he was forcibly removed from a room for shouting and disrupting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem‘s press conference. Padilla raised his concerns during an interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS News’s Face the Nation.
“If that’s how this administration responds to the senator with a question, don’t just imagine what they’re capable of, but what they are doing when the cameras are not there, to people without a title like United States senator, that cruel, disrespectful treatment of so many people who deserve much better,” said Padilla.
Later in the interview, Padilla was asked about security for legislators in Congress, given the recent political assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman. He mentioned there were valid concerns, but he was confident the necessary security measures were being taken by law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., to protect members of Congress. Padilla then pivoted the conversation back to his incident at the press conference, rhetorically asking Brennan why tensions were so high in the country. He then blamed President Donald Trump.
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“I also think it’s more than appropriate to step back and ask, ‘Why are tensions so high? Not just in Los Angeles but throughout the country,’” Padilla said. “And I can’t help but point to the beginning of, not just the first Trump term, but the beginning of the campaign. The tone with which the president launched his first campaign…served throughout his first term and continues in this term.”
“For a Cabinet secretary, during a press conference, to not be able or be willing to deescalate a situation when I was trying to ask a question, that’s just indicative of the tone of this administration,” the senator added.
