Sen. Padilla responds to VP Vance calling him ‘Jose’ during LA presser

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., responded to Vice President JD Vance calling him “Jose” during a press conference in Los Angeles on Friday, which led to major backlash from Democrats across the country.

The Democratic senator was forcibly removed and detained during a press event in his home state involving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on June 12. His Republican colleagues blasted the senator for potentially breaking the law and making “a spectacle of himself” rather than doing his job.

Padilla argued on MSNBC on Saturday that Vance’s decision to call him “Jose” exemplifies how “petty and unserious” the Trump administration really is.

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“He knows my name,” Padilla asserted, adding, “He’s the Vice President of the United States — you’d think he’d take the situation in Los Angeles more seriously.”

Senator Padilla criticized the vice president for not meeting with the families in Los Angeles who have been “terrorized” by the administration’s deportation efforts “to feel what’s really going on, on the ground.”

He then went on to allege that many of the Marines that were sent to Los Angeles to contain the anti-ICE protests are not happy about being there.

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“You saw him [JD Vance] shaking hands with Marines — but did he listen to the Marines?” Padilla questioned. “Because we have report after report of the Marines — so many of the Marines themselves that don’t want to be there. That’s not why they enlisted.”

Continuing his criticisms of Vance, he slammed the vice president for not speaking with the “concerned” employers of illegal immigrants who he claims have been speaking out against the administration’s deportations.

“How about this — just take a moment and talk to the Sheriff of Los Angeles County,” he railed. “Talk to the Chief of Police of Los Angeles City and hear from them their frustration for the lack of communication, the lack of coordination — this unnecessary and counterproductive build-up.” 

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Fox News’ Alec Schemmel and Alex Miller contributed to this report.