Fox News host Sean Hannity likely surprised his audience during the broadcast on Tuesday evening when he made a startling remark regarding California Governor Gavin Newsom.
As the program resumed following a commercial break, Hannity issued a “Fox News alert” before disclosing that the Democratic governor had just sent him a text message.
“Gov. Newsom just texted me and was inquiring whether we would be airing some of his press conference at the bottom of the hour,” the host stated. “That will occur in approximately three minutes as he is scheduled to address the nation.”
Hannity further remarked, “I will fact-check it in real time.”
During his address, Newsom characterized President Donald Trump’s actions to intervene in the rioting that commenced with assaults on federal ICE agents as an “assault on democracy,” while inaccurately asserting that the president’s decision to mobilize California National Guard soldiers and dispatch Marines to Los Angeles to safeguard federal property was unlawful.
On Tuesday, a federal judge denied Newsom’s urgent request to prevent Trump’s troop deployment to the city, directing both parties to provide additional arguments by the following week.
Newsom also claimed that Trump is “pushing mass deportations indiscriminately,” despite the fact that the president campaigned on this issue prior to last November’s significant defeat of now-former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“On Saturday morning, when federal agents emerged from an unmarked van near a Home Depot parking lot, they began apprehending individuals. This was a targeted operation in a predominantly Latino neighborhood,” Newsom stated. “A U.S. citizen, nine months pregnant, was taken into custody. A four-year-old girl. Taken. Families torn apart.”]} }
The governor remarked that the initial demonstrations following the deportations were not atypical for the city. Nevertheless, he indicated that the situation escalated beyond the ability of local, county, and state law enforcement to control.
“What followed was the deployment of tear gas, flashbang grenades, and rubber bullets. Federal agents apprehending individuals and infringing upon their due process rights,” Newsom stated.
The Democratic governor, however, did not refute that the protests had become violent, citing assaults on police officers, looting of businesses, and acts of vandalism. To date, over 220 individuals have been arrested, and Newsom expressed his expectation for additional arrests to occur.
Yet, he asserted that somehow Trump was responsible, claiming that the deployment of the military “exacerbated” the situation.
“These are individuals trained for foreign combat, not for domestic law enforcement,” Newsom remarked, although military police units are indeed trained in conflict resolution and de-escalation in addition to combat.
“Democracy is under siege before our very eyes,” Newsom added.
In the meantime, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman on Tuesday diverged from the majority of his fellow Democrats regarding the description of the rioting in Los Angeles.
Fetterman utilized social media to criticize Democrats for favoring illegal immigrants over federal immigration officials who enforce the law against those residing in the U.S. unlawfully, especially those convicted of serious offenses.
In a post on X that included images of the violence resulting from the riots in Los Angeles that have plagued the city for several days, the Pennsylvania freshman senator emphasized his support for peaceful protests, not for assaults on law enforcement and destruction of property.
“I unapologetically advocate for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that,” Fetterman wrote. “This is anarchy and genuine chaos. My party forfeits the moral high ground when we decline to denounce the setting of cars ablaze, the destruction of buildings, and the assault on law enforcement.”
