We might need to bring in Bill Murray—the man whose 1979 SNL skit made "Quien Es Mas Macho?" famous—to judge this one.
Today's Morning Joe played clips of NBC/MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff speaking with Trump border czar Tom Homan and California Gov. Gavin Newsom regarding the Trump administration's response to the rioting in Los Angeles over ICE's efforts to arrest illegal aliens.
Soboroff mentioned to Homan threats that have been made to arrest anyone who stands in the way of enforcement operations, and asked if that applies to LA Mayor Bass and Newsom.
Homan's succinct response: "I'll say it about anyone. You cross that line." The clip ended there, but the clear implication was that Bass and Newsom are potentially subject to arrest if they "cross that line." In the clip, Homan spoke for three seconds.
The first clip of Newsom's remarks to Soboroff was much longer -- 42 seconds -- and included much macho posturing by the guv, including:
- "He's a tough guy. He knows where to find me."
- "Come after me. Arrest me. Let's just get it over with."
- "So Tom, arrest me. Let's go."
Then Soboroff ran another 66 seconds of Newsom braggadocio, including Newsom calling President Trump a "stone-cold liar." MSNBC is the Democrat Talking Points Network.
MSNBC clearly implies Newsom is more macho since the air-time advantage is about 36 to 1.
Newsom might like nothing better than to be arrested, with its attendant virtue-signaling opportunities. Then again, Gavin would learn that LA's Metropolitan Detention Center ain't The French Laundry.
Soboroff served as Newsom's corner man. When Newsom accused Trump of "putting real people's lives at risk," Soboroff dutifully parroted: "So that's what this is really all about, putting real people's lives at risk." Jacob did stop short of wiping Gavin's brow with a wet sponge.
Soboroff never mentioned "real people" whose lives were not merely "put at risk," but ended, at the hands of illegal aliens.
Mika touted the new Democrat spin that somehow Trump could have made it less violent by....doing nothing. She said that ICE's actions could be "triggering" people. Yeah, lawbreakers do tend to get upset when law enforcement comes for them!
PS: We have the goods on this activist Soboroff. He was a key figure in defamation lawsuit against MSNBC (they settled it) for alleging Dr. Mahendra Amin performed unnecessary hysterectomies on female migrants. He’s attacked Democrats from the left on the issue of border security, he wrote a book lamenting Trump’s immigration policies, whom he accused of “torturing human beings” on multiple occasions. He also claimed Trump was attempting to “terrorize millions of people” by being “xenophobic.”
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
6/9/25
6:00 am EDTJACOB SOBOROFF: And there have been threats, you know, previously, that if you stand in the way of your enforcement operations, you know, you could be subject potentially to arrest.
Are you saying that about Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom? Are they at risk of being arrested?
TOM HOMAN: I'll say it about anybody. You cross that line.
. . .
SOBOROFF: And then last night in the Emergency Operations Center, I spent some time with Governor Newsom as he monitored the situation here. And I asked him about what Tom Homan had said about arresting him. I want to play a little bit more of that sound for you right now, Mika. Watch this.
GAVIN NEWSOM: He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me.
But you know what? Lay your hands off four-year-old girls that are trying to get educated. Lay your hands off these poor people who are just trying to live their lives, man. Trying to live their lives, paying their taxes, been here 10 years.
The fear, the horror, the hell is this guy? Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get it over with. Tough guy. You know, I don't give a damn. But I care about my community. I care about this community.
The hell are they doing? These guys need to grow up. 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.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Trump border czar Tom Homan and Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom of Florida speaking to NBC's Jacob Soboroff during a weekend of significant unrest in southern California.
. . .
SOBOROFF: The thing is, President Trump and Gavin Newsom have been talking behind the scenes at least since the beginning of this began. I asked him about a phone conversation that they had on Friday night, and he said that they had a relatively cordial conversation, and this didn't come up. I want to give you a little bit more of what Governor Newsom said about his conversation on Friday night, Mika, with the president. Watch this.
NEWSOM: Well, under his executive order, and specifically notes, and under what the DOD did, is they had to coordinate with the governor of the state. They never coordinated with the governor of the state. We talked for almost 20 minutes, and barely, this issue never came up. And I kept trying to talk about L.A. He wanted to talk about all these other issues. We had a very decent conversation.
SOBOROFF: When was this?
NEWSOM: This was late Friday night, about 1.30 plus his time.
SOBOROFF: After the protests that started here?
NEWSOM: After the protests. And he never once brought up the National Guard. He's a stone-cold liar. He said he did. Stone-cold liar. Never did. It was a very civil conversation. I've always wanted to approach engagement with the President of the United States in a respectful and responsible way.
But there's no working with the president. There's only working for him. And I will never work for Donald Trump.
I mean, where's your decency, Mr. President? Stop. Rescind this order. It's illegal and unconstitutional. And I said it. I'll say it again. It's immoral. You're creating the conditions that you claim you're solving, and you're not. And you're putting real people's lives at risk.
SOBOROFF: So that's what this is really all about, putting real people's lives at risk. And, you know, you've heard reports that there are riots on the streets of Los Angeles. There are certainly some, there has been civil unrest, reports of looting overnight. But on a wide scale, that is not what's happening across the city of Los Angeles.
. . .
MIKA: I'm, I really want to focus on what the California governor said there, and these are his words, President Trump creating the conditions you claim you are solving. You know, it's sort of what caused what at this point?.
And some might argue that the situation is triggering a lot of people.
