Politics

Gavin Newsom Reacts After Speaker Mike Johnson Says the California Governor Should Be “Tarred and Feathered”

The war of words between Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom and Republicans over the handling of the pro-illegal immigration riots in Los Angeles escalated Tuesday, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) saying Newsom should be “tarred and feathered.”

House Republican Chair Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) chuckles as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) suggests California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) be tarred and feathered over his mishandling of the pro-illegal immigration riots in Los Angeles, screen image via C-SPAN, June 10, 2025.

Johnson was responded to a question about President Donald Trump saying he was open to Border Czar Tom Homan arresting Newsom, but Homan said later that Newsom had not impeded federal immigration enforcement–but that no official, including Newsom, was immune from arrest for doing so.

Johnson unloaded on Newsom in a House press conference Tuesday morning, saying he should be tarred and feathered and accusing Newsom of, “applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys,”

Q: “Do you believe that Newsom should face consequences in a legal way?”

.@SpeakerJohnson: “That’s not my lane. I’m not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested but he ought to be tarred and feathered, I’ll say that.” pic.twitter.com/7C50t1rrE6

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 10, 2025

Reporter: “The president said possibly in jest, that if he were Tom Homan he would arrest Gavin Newsom. Do you believe that Newsom should face consequences in a legal way?”

Johnson: “Um. I, look, I, that’s not my lane I’m not going to give you legal analysis on whether, uh, Gavin Newsom should be arrested but, but he ought to be tarred and feathered. I’ll say that.

I mean, look he’s standing in the way of the, the administration and the carrying out of federal law, right? He, he is applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys. He is trying to he, he is, he’s a, a, a participant, an accomplice in our federal law enforcement agents being not just disrespected but assaulted.

This is a serious problem and uh, the governor is now filing a lawsuit against the president. What a joke, do your job, man. That’s what I tell Gavin Newsome. Do your job. Stop working on your rebranding and be a governor. Stand up for the rule of law.

He’s not doing that, so I don’t know what the ultimate measure will be there, but I know that in the interim time the president of the United States is showing real leadership and we’re not going to allow L.A. to burn. We’ve seen this movie before, right? This thing gets out of hand real quickly, especially in a big city like that. And if local and state officials are unwilling or unable to do their job, the president of the United States will do his and we support that fully.”

Newsom responded online, posting, “Good to know we’re skipping the arrest and going straight for the 1700’s style forms of punishment. A fitting threat given the @GOP want to bring our country back to the 18th Century.”

Good to know we’re skipping the arrest and going straight for the 1700’s style forms of punishment.

A fitting threat given the @GOP want to bring our country back to the 18th Century. https://t.co/0Ck1Xk3IEL

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 10, 2025

The post Gavin Newsom Reacts After Speaker Mike Johnson Says the California Governor Should Be “Tarred and Feathered” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.