Sen. Alex Padilla blasted the Trump administration Saturday, calling it \u201cpetty and unserious\u201d after Vice President JD Vance referred to him as \u201cJose\u201d during a news conference in Los Angeles the previous day.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows my name,\u201d Padilla said in an appearance on MSNBC on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
Vance visited Los Angeles on Friday for less than five hours after several weeks of federal immigration raids in the city and surrounding areas, sparking protests and backlash from state and local officials. <\/p>\n
Padilla was thrown into the heated nationwide immigration debate when he was dragged to the ground by federal law enforcement officers and briefly detained when he attempted to ask U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a news conference earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Vance characterized the move by California\u2019s first Latino senator as \u201cpolitical theater\u201d in his remarks. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn\u2019t a theater, and that\u2019s all it is,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
Vance served alongside Padilla in the Senate and is now the president of the upper chamber of Congress. Vance\u2019s press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, told Politico that the vice president misspoke and \u201cmust have mixed up two people who have broken the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Padilla, in his TV interview, said he broke no laws. <\/p>\n
He suggested the misnaming was intentional \u2014 and a reflection of the administration\u2019s skewed priorities. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the vice president of the United States.\u201d Padilla said. \u201cYou think he\u2019d take the the situation in Los Angeles more seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n
Padilla said Vance might instead have taken the opportunity to talk to families or employers affected by raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. <\/p>\n
Other California Democrats rallied behind Padilla after the misnaming incident. <\/p>\n
\u201cCalling him \u2018Jose Padilla\u2019 is not an accident,\u201d California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Friday post<\/a> on the social media platform X.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass highlighted racial undertones in Vance\u2019s comments. <\/p>\n