No Kings. No Emperors. No Thugs.
MAGA celebrates the Padilla outrage.
“If this is how the administration responds to a Senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farmworkers, cooks, and day laborers throughout the country.” — Senator Alex Padilla
Happy Friday.
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The thuggification of Trumpism is hardly new, but it is has seldom been more graphic than yesterday. By now, you know the story and have seen the video: federal agents seized, pushed to the ground, and handcuffed a United States Senator.
It was appalling on almost every level. Here was the Drudge Report’s front page (before the Israeli attack on Iran):
But as shocking as the incident was, the reaction was (and is) far worse. In a rational world, there would have been apologies — a recognition that there had been a terrible misunderstanding and overreaction.
(As an exercise, try to imagine Ron Johnson being wrestled to the ground in Wisconsin; or Tommy Tuberville in Alabama; or Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. Yeah, neither can I. )
In a decent political universe, members of Congress — of both parties — would stand up for their colleague who had been handcuffed for asking a question. There would be bipartisan denunciation of an unambiguously unAmerican moment.
We do not, however, live in that world. So, instead, we got gaslighting, raving hypocrisy, and a full-throated defense of the thuggery.1
Let’s not let the absurdity distract from the more ominous substance of what happened. Yes, Kristi Noem lied about the incident (the tape clearly shows that Padilla identified himself as a senator).2 There was also the rank hypocrisy of ICE Barbie accusing Padilla of “political theatre,” when Noem’s entire tenure — from shooting puppies to the fashion-accessorized abuse of migrants — has been one long cringey performance. (Hat tip The Tennessee Holler.)
And who can forget this bit of performative cruelty?
Speaking of hypocrisy, you’ll also note that the folks who applauded this, now are filled with pearl-clutching outrage over Padilla’s attempt to ask a question at a press conference.
But, it gets worse, and it’s important to notice how the line has once again been moved: TrumpWorld loved the brutal takedown of Senator Padilla and is grooming their base for more.
This is what I said yesterday on Nicolle Wallace’s show:
"If cruelty is the point, then so is the brutality and so is this conflict," Sykes said. "... Keep in mind that for this administration, chaos is a ladder. They embrace the chaos and this feeds into it. And if that chaos includes arresting and humiliating and handcuffing Democratic elected officials, they're going to do it. They are okay with that. They are prepping their base to accept it, to ask for it and to cheer it on."
"We should have no illusions that, in fact, this ratchet has moved today and is moving in real time right now with every reaction and non-reaction from members of Congress, who refuse to stand up for one of their colleagues who was doing a job for his constituents, the job that he was elected to do in his home state," he continued. "So every moment that passes, that line is moving."
**
**
Democrats, of course, were incandescent in their outrage:
But from Republicans? Silence, evasion, or Trumpist triumphalism. Predictably, Speaker Mike Johnson was among the very worst. Instead of standing up for congressional prerogatives and dignity, Johnson went full-MAGA, endorsing a censure for… Padilla for having the temerity to speak truth to power.
“I think that that behavior at a minimum rises to the level of a censure,” Johnson told reporters. “I think there needs to be a message sent by the body as a whole that that is not what we’re going to do, that’s not what we’re going to act.”
“We’re not going to have branches fighting physically and having senators charging Cabinet secretaries,” he added. “We got to do better and I hope that we will.”
Well, as George Washington might say, WTAF?
***
Speaking of craptacular takes, consider this one:
Let’s be real: Padilla knew exactly what he was doing. He showed up to that press event looking to make a scene — and he made one. Whether or not he wore his Senate pin is beside the point. He wanted the arrest. He wanted the handcuffs. He wanted to be the visual representation of resistance to what California Democrats are branding a fascist crackdown. Gavin Newsom practically begged Trump to arrest him — Padilla followed through.
This is piffle on stilts. Of course, Padilla wanted to get attention. One man’s “stunt” is another man’s flagrant act of democracy. But it’s absurd to think that he wanted to be arrested; that he wanted the handcuffs. But this is your brain on punditry (and there’s a lot more of this out there.)
Peel away the layers of bullshit here. Padilla was engaged in speech. He is a United States senator in the state that elected him. He wanted to ask questions and, yes, to make a political point. This is how a functioning democracy is supposed to work. Sometimes it’s messy; and sometimes disruptive, but the right to speak and to petition the government for the redress of grievances is at the heart of our constitutional republic.
Handcuffing elected representatives is something else altogether. Until yesterday, Americans understood that.
Meanwhile:
Trump’s Use of National Guard in Limbo After Court Rulings - The New York Times
In an extraordinary 36-page ruling, Judge Charles Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Francisco severed Mr. Trump’s control of up to 4,000 National Guard troops, hundreds of whom are already deployed in the streets of Los Angeles on his orders. The judge said the administration’s seizure of them violated required procedures in a federal statute.
President Trump’s “actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Judge Breyer wrote. “He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the governor of the state of California forthwith.”
Read a federal judge’s ruling striking down Trump’s taking control of the California National Guard.
The directive would have taken effect at noon Pacific time on Friday. But the Trump administration immediately filed a notice that it was appealing Judge Breyer’s decision. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed to stay the ruling while it reviews the case, temporarily blocking it from taking effect.
**
Israel strikes Iran’s nuclear sites, kills military leaders; Trump urges for deal:
Multiple explosions were reported across Iran early Friday, including in Tehran and at the Natanz nuclear facility. The strikes killed three senior commanders and two nuclear scientists, according to Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.
In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the goal of the operation was “to damage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its ballistic missile factories and military capabilities.”
[Editor’s note: We’ll have a lot more on this over the weekend.]
Finally
No one is coming to save us. Not the courts. Not Congress. Not the media. Keep that in mind as protesters gather tomorrow across the country.
It’s not hyperbole to say that the public is the last guardrail standing.
And, while the rallies are officially called “No Kings,’” this is rather unfair to royalty. A more appropriate handle would be, ‘No Thugs.”
Friday dog
From my wife’s Substack newsletter, a tribute to Pete:
“Two years ago today we were trying to reimagine our lives without our 17 year old dog, Pete. He had an amazing run, and was beloved by people all over the world. Had he known, I have no doubt he would have felt that was exactly his due. After we announced his passing, Pete was trending on Twitter for two days, and the post itself had three million impressions. Artists sent images of him; people sent beautiful and heartfelt condolences. And all for an adopted hound dog who, for seventeen years, dominated our household. I know many of you on Substack remember him, so here is a little Pete tribute, featuring some of the artwork people honored him (and us) with.”
Right-wing media immediately rushed to defend the incident by falsely claiming that Padilla never identified himself, arguing that he was “erratic” and “causing a scene,” and justifying his forced removal because “no one is above the law.”
Fox anchor John Roberts suggested that law enforcement “did not know” who Padilla was and claimed that the senior senator from California “had no identification on him, which is why they probably in that instant saw him as a threat and forcibly removed him.” [Fox News, America Reports, 6/12/25]
Real America’s Voice’s Mike Crispi: “CLOWNS like Senator Alex Padilla are literally trying to get arrested” by “barging into secure buildings, not going through checkpoints, not showing ID.” Crispi added, “Then [they] act outraged when this happens. It’s a scam.” [Twitter/X, 6/12/25]
Right-wing commentator Stephen L. Miller commented, “AKSHULLY it's perfectly okay to walk into a press conference unidentified and charge at a sitting female cabinet member.” He also posted, “A guy ranting like a lunatic, in plain clothes, comes charging into a press conference of a cabinet secretary where he's not identified or cleared and could have a weapon, and the media is going to back that horse too now, I guess.” [Twitter/X, 6/12/25, 6/12/25]
Newsmax anchor Katrina Szish said Padilla was “causing a scene” and “making it very, very difficult for our federal government to do their job.” [Newsmax, American Agenda, 6/12/25]
Far-right outlet The Gateway Pundit wrote that Padilla had to be “forcibly removed” after he “rushed the podium and lunged at Kristi Noem during her presser.” Repeating the DHS statement, the article also claimed, “The Secret Service thought Padilla was an attacker. Padilla was not wearing his Senate security pin on and he did not immediately identify himself.” [The Gateway Pundit, 6/12/2025]
Kristi Noem is lying/defending the assault on Senator Padilla:
In a shocking interview with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum on The Story Thursday, Noem blasted the senator and fully defended the actions of the Secret Service and FBI personnel who shoved him out of the room, forced him to the floor, and handcuffed him.
“This man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice and was stopped, did not identify himself and was removed from the room,” Noem said. “So as soon as he identified himself, appropriate actions were taken.”
As the videotapes clearly show, this is false. Padilla is identifying himself as a senator before he is thrown to the ground and handcuffed. The claim that he was not wearing a security pin also rings hollow, since Padilla — one of two senators from California — was obviously recognizable to everyone in the room, including Noem and her entourage.
Let's not lose sight of what ICE Barbie said right before her staff handcuffed Sen. Padilla--she stated that her troops would remain until they had "liberated" the city from its "Socialist" leaders. So...not to protect Federal agents and American citizens but overthrowing elected leaders. This. Is. A. Coup.
I'm headed to a rally near my house tomorrow. TBH I was debating whether or not to go (my weekends are typically pretty busy) but after what I saw in LA and witnessing Pedilla's takedown I'm 100% going. I think the crowd's will be supercharged all over the country because of what's happened.