A conservative pundit got himself in hot water pushing debunked claims about Senator Alex Padilla’s arrest during a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press briefing.
Scott Jennings told CNN’s Table for Five that Padilla was “charging into a press conference in Los Angeles, lunging towards a stage”—echoing a claim from DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, who posted on X that Padilla had engaged in “disrespectful political theatre” by “lunging” toward DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Video of the incident, however, does not show Padilla lunging for the stage, but rather being forcefully removed from the room while loudly identifying himself as a senator.
Padilla found himself tackled to the ground and arrested during a June 12 press conference to address the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in Los Angeles.
In an interview with Fox News after the press briefing, Noem—nicknamed “ICE Barbie” for dolling up for immigration raids, among other bizarre publicity stunts—claimed Padilla had not identified himself before being arrested, despite video footage from her own department showing he had indeed told officials who he was.
“Anybody who’s seen the video knows I repeatedly introduced myself,” Padilla said on Pod Save America after the incident. “They knew who I was. I was not lunging at the secretary.”
Jennings claimed on Fox News that the senator’s identification was insufficient.
“I mean, I’m sorry, but screaming that ‘I’m a senator, I’m a senator,’ I don’t know who you are,” Jennings said Saturday. “I still don’t know who the guy is. And so that’s not good enough.”
Jennings further suggested that Padilla had orchestrated his arrest for the purpose of political theater.
“I mean, it’s sort of like porn for their base,” Jennings said. “There’s a lot of capital right now in the Democratic Party for getting arrested. In case of [Senator Alex] Padilla, who if you handed me $10 million right now, if I could pick him out of a lineup, I don’t think I could do it.”
“The theater kids have taken over, and they are desperate to create theater,” he added.
For fellow guest Dan Koh, a former official under the Joe Biden administration, this was a step too far. “He is one of two Senators in California,” he shot back at Jennings. “I think Mitch McConnell would be recognised throughout Kentucky.”
Koh went on to say he felt that Padilla’s arrest, while “already concerning,” wasn’t even the most frightening aspect of the incident. “When ICE tweeted it, ICE clearly said that he did not identify himself and tweeted a video where he clearly did,” he said.
“What kind of confidence should we have in our government with any communication from the Trump administration going forward?” he added.”
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