Stephen A. Smith Gives Brutal Take-Down of Padilla Stunt and Newsom

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith gave a brutal take-down of Sen. Alex Padilla's (D-CA) stunt during DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's press briefing in Los Angeles on the anti-ICE riots and slammed the state's Governor Gavin Newsom for his lack of response to the violence.

During "The Stephen A. Smith Show" podcast, the host blasted Padilla for his "out of control" behavior at the press event on Thursday and said he needed to act like a U.S. Senator.

“Can Kristi Noem speak?” Smith said. "Could you have waited for her to finish to ask your questions? To shout your questions?"

🚨NEW: Stephen A. Smith GOES OFF on Dem Sen. Alex Padilla over behavior at Kristi Noem press conference🚨

"You — a United States senator — couldn't compose yourself and let the head of Homeland Security finish her thoughts before you asked a question?"

"Couldn't do that, huh?"… pic.twitter.com/L5tf46pP3k
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) June 13, 2025

"You are Senator, right? You couldn't wait?" he added. "So, that was just you out of control because you were just losing it, huh?"

"You — a United States senator — couldn't compose yourself and let the head of Homeland Security finish her thoughts before you asked a question?" Smith continued. "Couldn't do that, huh? Couldn't do it, huh."

A top Department of Homeland Security official reacted to Smith's comments and said he was exactly right, calling Padilla's actions "shameful."

"Yep, @stephenasmith is right. Padilla tried to manufacture a viral moment, and it's embarrassing & disrespectful," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X.

Yep @stephenasmith is right. Padilla tried to manufacture a viral moment and it’s embarrassing & disrespectful.

There’s no excuse for busting into a press conference and interrupting it —Had Senator Padilla asked for a meeting, @Sec_Noem would have happily obliged, which she… pic.twitter.com/psQOdb4Ltp
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) June 13, 2025

"There's no excuse for busting into a press conference and interrupting it —Had Senator Padilla asked for a meeting, @Sec_Noem would have happily obliged, which she graciously did for 15 minutes after the press conference," she added. "Padilla entered a high-security federal facility under false pretenses and crashed an invite-only press conference as law enforcement are working around the clock to calm violent riots. Shameful."

Later in Smith's podcast, he torched both Padilla and California Governor Gavin Newsom for pushing a losing argument, pointing out that President Donald Trump won in November because he vowed to get illegal immigrants out of the country. (7:25 minute mark)

"The polls show that," Smith said. "And I don't want to hear anything about how 'there's no mandate with Trump, he didn't win 50% of the vote.' You didn't either … It was an indictment against you as a party."

He said Democrats said nothing about former President Joe Biden's "open borders" and the massive illegal immigration.

He then called out Newsom for his lack of response to call in the National Guard when things turned violent in LA when rioters attacked law enforcement, blocked the freeway, and burned cars.

🚨NEW: Stephen A. Smith TORCHES Gavin Newsom for not deploying National Guard himself🚨

"You could have called the National Guard. You could have made sure that law enforcement throughout the city of Los Angeles had a very strong, vibrant, conspicuous presence."

"Because you… pic.twitter.com/mQHLqkukxZ
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) June 13, 2025

"You could have called the National Guard," Smith said as his voice went up. "You could have made sure that law enforcement throughout the city of Los Angeles had a very strong, vibrant, conspicuous presence … You could've done that. But you didn't. And because you didn't, you gave [Trump] the opening to do it."

"Because it makes you look like you're weak on crime. You're weak on lawlessness. You're weak on borders. All the things that got him elected — you're playing into his hand," he added. "And not only did you do it, Governor Newsom, but now Sen. Padilla did it. Because we all know you could've waited for her to finish speaking."

As RedState reported:

Padilla, as RedState reported, tried to storm an LA press conference Thursday that featured DHS Secretary Kristi Noem speaking to the media about the Los Angeles riots and the ongoing ICE immigration sweeps being conducted in the city despite the riots. Noem reportedly was going to take questions after giving a statement, but apparently, Padilla couldn't wait.
Videos show that Padilla's erratic, aggressive behavior seemed to alarm Secret Service and FBI agents, who forcibly led him out of the room as he resisted and took him down to the floor before handcuffing him.

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