Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2025
June 9, 2025
Governor Gavin C. Newsom of California/Flagpole Installation at the White House
Q. Gavin Newsom.
The President. Flagpole.
Q. Flagpole?
Q. Can you tell me about Gavin Newsom?
The President. Yes. What about him?
Q. Gavin Newsom is—he's daring Tom Homan to come and arrest him. Should he do it?
The President. 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.
Look, he's—I like Gavin Newsom. He's a nice guy, but he's grossly incompetent. Everybody knows. All you have to do is look at the little railroad he's building. It's about a hundred times over budget.
We're putting a flagpole over there—under budget. I always do under budget.
Political Protests in Los Angeles, California
Q. What does your intel tell you about these people causing all the problems in L.A.?
The President. Oh, they're—they're——
Q. Are they people ICE is trying to deport, or are they professional agitators?
The President. The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators. They're insurrectionists. They're bad people. They should be in jail.
Thank you.
[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]
Q. [Inaudible]—Mr. President? Will you invoke the Insurrection Act?
The President. A lot of construction—a lot of construction to—[inaudible].
NOTE: The President spoke at 12:23 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to White House Border Czar Thomas D. Homan.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, White House. Locations: Washington, DC.
Names: Homan, Thomas D.; Newsom, Gavin C.
Subjects: California, Governor; California, political protests in Los Angeles; News media, Presidential interviews; White House Border Czar.
DCPD Number: DCPD202500675.