Whatever your feelings are on an obnoxious Democrat leader being restrained by federal security — yeah, I don’t really care, either — the one thing I don’t appreciate is being told that what I saw with my eyes isn’t what happened. But if there’s anything the dying news media excel at these days, it’s precisely that.
Video of Alex Padilla has been on replay everywhere since Thursday after the California Democrat abruptly pushed his way to the front of a press briefing led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Noem was in Los Angeles overseeing federal law enforcement of illegal alien apprehensions and conducting the briefing to explain her department’s work and answer questions from attendees.
In video footage featuring Padilla, the senator is seen advancing toward Noem’s podium, unannounced, and saying something unintelligible before being blocked by security, who attempted to push him back.
“Hands off,” Padilla says. As he continues to struggle with security, he says, “I am Senator Alex Padilla” and “I have questions for the secretary.” He does all this while still pushing himself toward Noem, who was in the middle of speaking. Padilla, a hulking figure standing above six feet — “a big, tall guy,” according to one of his Senate colleagues — was eventually removed from the event while continuing to struggle and ultimately forced to the ground where he was handcuffed.
Afterward, he delivered a Shakespearean on-camera statement where he mustered up a knot in his throat and said he simply had “a question” for Noem. Oh boy, did the dying media take it from there.
New York Times: “The footage shows Mr. Padilla stepping to one side, introducing himself and starting to call out a question …”
NBC: “Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday after he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem …”
Reuters: “Democratic U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was shoved, forced to the ground and handcuffed by security after attempting to ask a question at a press conference …”
Politico: “… the handcuffing of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) by law enforcement after he tried to ask a question at a news conference …”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the white male version of Kamala Harris, said on social media, “If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”
If Padilla was just “asking a question,” then Kanye West is just thinking out loud.
Hellbound and Down 