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CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip

Soon, Curfew Begins For Downtown L.A. Amid Protests; Protests Against Trump's ICE Raids Escalate Across U.S.; Gov. Gavin Newsom (D- CA) Blasts Trump In Speech To Nation; CNN Follows Developments On Violent Protests In Los Angeles And New York. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired June 10, 2025 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:00]

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: Good evening. I'm Abby Phillip in New York with breaking news tonight. It is 7:00 P.M. in Los Angeles, where just a short time from now, a curfew will begin as the city enters its fifth straight day of unrest. President Trump has mobilized 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city to quell the demonstrations against his immigration raids, which Governor Gavin Newsom says has only inflamed tensions in the city.

Newsom, just a few moments ago, delivered a blistering speech to the nation on Trump's tactics. We will debate that in a moment. We are also, though, watching as these protests spread across the country, several cities following Los Angeles' lead.

So, let's go straight to CNN's Nick Watt Live on the streets in the in downtown L.A. Nick, what are you seeing there? It looks pretty calm behind you for tonight.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is pretty calm as we enter the final hour before this curfew. Now, the reason it is calm is earlier, Abby, on this street, there were maybe 200 protesters. That is the federal detention facility just up there. That's why the protesters were there.

Listen, it was peaceful. It was tense. There was, you know, a line of National Guard and federal officers, a line of protesters, some of the protesters singing the national anthem into the face of the Guardsmen, asking them if they're proud of what they're doing.

But it was pretty calm. There was a lady with a ukulele. Then a bus arrived, we believe, carrying some detained people, and that was the spark. A couple of people from the crowd threw plastic water bottles at the Guardsmen who returned non-lethal fire, came out, snatch squad made a couple of arrests, kettled everybody on this street. We got kind of caught up in it and were briefly detained.

They are clearly the LAPD and the city officials making it plain that they have got this under control. They do not want the National Guard here. They do not want the Marines here. They say they have this under control. The mayor, Mayor Karen Bass, she called this like a, an experiment by the Trump administration to see what would happen if they try and take a city with federal troops. The actual damage is pretty limited. The curfew is going to be pretty limited, about one square mile of downtown. This is a 500-square-mile city, so a tiny, tiny portion of the city. The city, in general, is not out of control. Most people in the city going about their business, just as they always do. But there were people exercising their right to protest these ICE detentions, and that was the flashpoint.

But as I say, Abby, the police, the LAPD making it very clear that they're going to lock this down tonight, they've got over 700 officers. This time last night, bad stuff was beginning to happen around here. There were problems, for sure. Tonight, it seems they are getting ahead of it. They have shut this down, that beacon, that was the beacon for the protests, protesters can't really get really close to it.

So, they are hoping that this curfew will shut things down, 8:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M., Abby. And right now, as you say, it's calm. We had that flash this afternoon, otherwise, being pretty chill.

PHILLIP: Yes, just as the sun is expected to go down in L.A., they are taking a pretty significant step that they made it clear they were trying to do this in as limited a way as possible.

Let's go now live to CNN's Whitney Wild. She's in Chicago, where protesters and police have been clashing tonight. Whitney, what can you tell us about what's happening there?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: We're still working on getting definitive arrest numbers, Abby, and we're also working on getting a definitive crowd size. And what I can tell you is we saw a few clashes when police would try to form a line to try to control the crowd and move them away from areas that, you know, they just simply didn't want the crowd to go.

So, for example, one of the. First times you really saw a clash between protesters and police was when they had formed a line along one of those iconic bridges in Chicago. They didn't want more of the crowd going over the bridge. And what you're looking at now, this is Michigan Avenue, this is the most iconic strip in all of Chicago. And what you're seeing are dozens of cop cars here lined up. There are -- you know, I don't have a definitive number, but I mean, there's hundreds of police officers out here trying to help control this crowd.

Abby, what we've seen is that, basically, when police try to move the crowd, that's when they run into protesters.

[22:05:06]

And there are a couple of scuffles, but for the most part, this has been very common.

One thing I think is important to point out is that whenever there has been a scuffle between law enforcement and protesters, the crowd insisted over and over, stay peaceful, stay peaceful, stay peaceful. This is a peaceful protest. You know, there were clashes, but there were many more people who were committed to exercising a First Amendment right in a controlled and peaceful way.

The other thing I think is important to point out, Abby, is that as we were here, we saw the top levels of Chicago public safety. So, we saw the deputy mayor for public safety on scene. We saw the number two for the police department on scene, the top brass. And the reason I think that's so important to point out is that that shows a heightened level of supervisor supervision here.

And one thing the Chicago Police Department has said over and over, you know, all the way back to the DNC, is that they are committed to ensuring that there is public safety, but they're also committed to allowing people to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights.

So, what we saw was, you know, this very large protest, you know, coming through several streets --

PHILLIP: All right. I think we lost --

WILD: There is that one video. Abby, if you could -- can you still hear me?

PHILLIP: Yes, Whitney, I think we lost you for just a second.

WILD: It sounded like you lost me.

PHILLIP: Yes, go ahead.

WILD: Okay. You have me now. Okay. Sorry, I just want to finish my thought. So, you know, what we saw were protesters, you know, really taking over several city streets in downtown Chicago.

And you see behind me, police are getting ready to roll out of here because this is over for the most part. But there was one major incident, Abby, and what we saw was a car -- it's going to get loud. We saw a car weaving through protesters and actually clipping some protesters. And at first it starts slowly. And then when you go to that video it, it just starts -- you know, that car just starts flying.

So, that was really the major incident where working with the Chicago Police Department to try to find out what happened, if that driver was arrested, why that happened.

But, Abby, as you are starting to see police officers here on Michigan Avenue, downtown Chicago are getting back in their cars, this protest is now over. And we'll continue to ask the Chicago Police Department about those skirmishes and how many arrests were made. But that is the latest here from downtown Chicago, Abby.

PHILLIP: All right. Thank you, Whitney Wild.

I mentioned just a minute ago that Gavin Newsom gave this intense speech against Donald Trump. Here's a clip of it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Donald Trump, without consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state's National Guard members to deploy on our streets illegally and for no reason. This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: Newsom there talking about Trump's order, which he signed, which did not just apply to Los Angeles or California, it applied to the entire country. And he also said something, Abel, you were the lieutenant governor of that state at one time, he said that authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are the least able to defend themselves. And he said, that's what Trump is doing now.

FORMER LT. GOV. ABEL MALDONADO (R-CA): I couldn't disagree more with what Gavin Newsom said. You need a -- I mean, I live under Gavin Newsom. I don't know how many people. I live under Gavin Newsom today over the last, what, six years. And I think we need to fact-check his speech to be very sincerely, because if you look at what he's done in California, he got the biggest surplus. It's gone. I mean, I can go down the fire hydrants even have water in them. I can go on and on and on. He's trying to differentiate himself from other candidates. He's running for president.

At the end of the day, Abby, all I can say is that we had 11 million people that came into America illegally. We don't know who they are. We don't know where they came from. There's a lot of them in California. Californians, I haven't had anybody come up to me and say, hey, get the National Guard out of here. Nobody in California is saying that. They want to be safe. And to have President Trump send the National Guard at the end of the day, it's a message that he didn't trust Karen Bass and he didn't trust Gavin Newsom to operate independently and to protect his troops, ICE agents, federal buildings and so forth. So, he did what he had to do.

And I think Californians support that, to be very sincere, Abby. Angelinos will support that. I don't hear anybody saying, get out of here.

CHUCK ROCHA, CO-HOST, THE LATINO VOTE PODCAST: I think it's really important if you listen to his words tonight, a couple things that's important for a Democrat to say, when you look right in the camera and he said, if you do something illegal, you shouldn't be looting. You're going to go to jail. You got every right in the world to protest and everybody has to right to protest. But he, a Democrat, looked in the camera and said, if you break the law, you're going to jail.

There'll be no unlawful for all the folks who step to a Democrat and say that we're not for law and order. He looked at the camera and said it plainly out of his feet, I'm not going back and re-litigating his record. But I'm saying what he said tonight, trying to culmination and giving Democrats somebody actually fighting back and getting in the face of a bully saying, bring it on, big boy. MALDONADO: Hey, Chuck, let me just share this with you because this is very important. In California we had a situation where stores were being looted by people. There were no ramifications. The people of California put Proposition 36 on the ballot that, in essence, made it stiffer penalties and stopped people from stealing. Gavin Newsom opposed it. This was just a couple of months ago. Gavin Newsom opposed it and the people of California voted almost 70 percent. So, those are important facts.

JOE BORELLI, FORMER REPUBLICAN LEADER, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: Let's start with the most preposterous part of this speech. This is night number five, one, two, three, four, five, five nights of riots and looting and violence on the streets of his principal city and Gavin Newsom uses this opportunity to give a speech against Donald Trump, not about the rioters, not about the people who are out there committing the crime.

NBC other networks are saying this is the first step in his presidential ambitions and basically this is what's going to make Gavin Newsom president. Well, if that's the case, let me be the first to salute President J.D. Vance in 2028 because that's what's going to happen, whether Democrats like it or not, if this is their main guy.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Liste, Gavin Newsom didn't create this situation, right? This situation was created by Donald Trump, who --

BORELLI: Enforcing laws.

NAVARRO: Well, no, actually not enforcing law, doing something that hadn't been done in 60 years, which is bring out the National Guard, something that Donald Trump himself had said before was unconstitutional to use the National Guard without the authority and approval of that state's governor.

I want to go back to your initial question about what authoritarians do, and I don't live under Gavin Newsom, but I lived under Daniel Ortega, and I fled communism, and I fled authoritarianism. And what we are seeing all over America is a man who is not just trying to be a dictator for one day, is a man who's acting as an authoritarian, a man who's giving himself a parade on Saturday for his birthday, like they do in North Korea, and they do in places like Russia, a man who is attacking anybody who opposes him and weaponizing government against universities, against law firms, against anybody who dare speak up against him, a man who said he was going to go against criminals and gang members, and who is going after mothers and fathers and tias and abuelas, and people who've lived here for 30 and 40 years and have built lives and are good, decent, hardworking people, many of them who are here under some color of law. Because if you are showing up to an immigration court, you're not here undocumented, you're here under political asylum, you're here under parole, you're here under TPS and going to a check-in.

So I, for one, am very happy to see somebody that isn't afraid to speak up and call an authoritarian an authoritarian. And if it's Gavin Newsom as a result of what's happening in California now, I welcome it because I have been so thirsty for somebody that is not cowardly bending the knee and selling out to Donald Trump, as he does all of this to America. It's not just to Latinos.

PHILLIP: Gavin Newsom in this speech also said, this is the moment that we Democrats, what he was saying, were warning about. He said, the moment is now. And he's been saying something very similar on in his social media post saying, wake up. Do you think he's expressing what you believe?

DR. CORNEL WEST (I), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the problem is so much deeper that Newsom, he's not the answer to the prayer. And Trump certainly bears major responsibility in what Sister Ana's talking about.

But I just think the larger context is that the American empire is undergoing an imperial meltdown and spiritual breakdown, and the people in the street not always having the right flags and so forth, they're engaging in some kind of prophetic fight back because the starting point is the suffering of the people, and then you get the various responses.

Well, what distinctive features of the collapse of an empire? Militarization abroad. We got 800 military units abroad, and militarizing at home. Martin King talked about, what, militarism, racism, poverty, and materialism will bring down the curtain on America.

So, what kind of response do we have? If it's just going to be narrow partisan responses of Team Republican and Team Democrat, and nobody's concerned about telling the truth, it's critical of both, nobody's concerned about pushing integrity and honesty and decency, focus on the suffering of what is going on.

In some ways, the whole thing is a distraction because you got grotesque inequality, you got organized greed at the top, you got spiritual wickedness, not just in the Republican Party. It has its version in the Democratic Party too, not just in politics, in elites across the nation, universities, mosques, churches, professionally- obsessed with what? Gold. Not the golden rule, worshiping the golden calf, me, me, me, money, money, money, spectacle, spectacle, spectacle.

[22:15:05]

So, there's deeper issues here that we have to come to terms with, and this is why it's a very serious moment.

NAVARRO: You said something that I think is very important, that this is a distraction. While we are talking about this, while Donald Trump is wagging the dog, we are not talking about the ridiculous yo mama is so ugly contest that he was holding with Elon Musk until a few days ago. We are not talking about the parade that he's throwing. We're not talking about the big, beautiful bill that is flailing and that's going to leave 11 million people without health coverage. We're not talking about the failure of his tariffs, on economic policy. BORELLI: Well, again, we're not talking about this because this has gone on for nine nights without the mayor or the governor of the state doing anything to put these riots under control until Trump started moving in federal troops. Whether you agree with that or not, that was the catalyst for Bass and for Newsom to act.

And I'll read one quote that was in an article I read, Pablo Alvardo, the head of the National Day Labor Organization, an organization that actually organized some of these -- the peaceful part, I'm assuming of the protest. Every time there is violence, it's the most vulnerable communities that pay the price. The businesses of the low income communities are the ones who pay the price. This is people in the crowd saying that. And, unfortunately, the Democratic Party, a very small number of them are the violent insurrectionists. But, unfortunately, the broader party accepts it and lionizes it.

PHILLIP: Hold on a second.

NAVARRO: I have heard Democrat after Democrat condemn violence. And I will tell you this, I have seen more violence at a Best Buy on a Black Friday than I have in these --

PHILLIP: Hold on second.

(CROSSTALKS)

PHILLIP: Joe, it's interesting that you would say that about violent protests because Gavin Newsom talked about the context here, which is also that this president pardoned a bunch of violent so-called protesters on January 6th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWSOM: He's taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking to our founding fathers' historic project, three co-equal branches of independent government. There are no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility. The rule of law has increasingly been given away to the rule of don.

The founding fathers, they didn't live and die to see this kind of moment. It's time for all of us to stand up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: We got to go straight to the streets of New York. Shimon Prokupecz is on the street there. Shimon, what's happening around you?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, just to give you -- just to let you know where we are, we are at 26 Federal Plaza, which is where the ICE offices are, and many of the protesters have been gathering here.

The NYPD has now given them notice that if they don't leave, that they're going to be subject to arrest. You could see all of the people here. There are dozens that I can see that are gathered here in a standoff with the NYPD. And the NYPD is now making another announcement here, Abby, telling people -- here we go, you could see this officer here behind us making that announcement and telling them, if they don't leave, they will be arrested. So, if they don't start to leave or give any kind of appearance to these officers that they're going to disperse, we will likely see arrests. And there are dozens here.

They've already made several arrests the NYPD tonight after some of the demonstrators, agitators, really not some of the peaceful protesters, because this was peaceful for four hours, and then all of a sudden at around 9:00, as some of them were marching, they started throwing garbage into the street. And that is when the NYPD started moving in and making arrests.

And at this point here outside of the ICE office --

PHILLIP: Shimon, did they give a time for these protesters? Is there any sense of when this needs to happen and they'll begin clearing the area, or is it just a warning that they should disperse as soon as possible?

PROKUPECZ: It's just a warning. There's no time. You know, generally having covered many of these, the NYPD is fairly lenient. You know, they have their lawyers here, they tell them what to say. They tell them how many times they need to make the announcement. And sometimes they move in fairly quickly. Sometimes they give it a little time.

The thing is, you know, arresting all of these people will escalate the situation. And so by making these announcements, what the NYPD is hoping to do is to deescalate, half people leave. We did see some people leave when the NYPD made announcements. And likely what you'll see, like once the NYPD starts to move in, a lot of people will start running.

I just want to give you a picture here. You could see, Abby, just here in the street how many police officers are here wearing helmets standing by, and they're just waiting at this point to be told by many of the chiefs out here, okay, what are the next steps here.

[22:20:05]

But we'll see how long the NYPD is going to allow this to continue. I mean, they've allowed them to stay out here for hours at this point, but we'll see how much more -- I see one of the chiefs here now moving around, so I'm curious to see what happens. He's been kind of running the operation here.

PHILLIP: All right.

PROKUPECZ: So, we're just right now -- oh, here we go. We hear something here from the chief, Abby, but I don't know what's going on. So, we're just waiting to see how much longer the NYPD is going to allow this.

PHILLIP: All right, Shimon. We will stay very close with you. In the meantime, we're going to take a quick break. We'll head back to the ground, and we also have some new comments from Donald Trump about the militarization of America's Street.

Stay with us. This is CNN's special breaking news coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:25:00]

PHILLIP: More on our breaking news now, protests erupting across America against Donald Trump's ICE raids. We have reporters in both New York City and Los Angeles where a curfew is just minutes away in downtown L.A.

Let's go first to Shimon Prokupecz, who is on the streets of New York. Shimon, you were just telling us before the break that police have told these protesters to disperse. Are they doing as they've been ordered?

PROKUPECZ: No. In fact, now I want to show you this here, Abby. We're seeing many of the protesters here lock arms here now and you could see them face-to-face here with some of the police officers and just how close they are to some of the officers that have been standing here now for hours as this demonstration continue.

But this is new. This is just happened in the last few seconds here where some of them walked over. They've now locked arms and we are waiting to see what the NYPD will do. Remember when we were talking last, they gave that dispersal order. Many of the protesters are still here, some have left.

And now the NYPD has moved these barriers in, and you could see why they're doing that. It's to give a level of separation now between the protesters with these metal barriers and these officers who are so close to some of these protesters. And what we're seeing now is they're trying to push these protesters up onto the sidewalk.

I think we're going to get pushed up on the sidewalk as well, but we're fine. The NYPD knows we're press, so we're good. But there you go. So, they're going to back everyone up and we're going to get up on the sidewalk. But this is what they're doing now. They gave the dispersal order. People have not really left.

And so we're now continuing here in this standoff between the protesters and the NYPD. You can see many of them are still here, here on the sidewalk, just outside the ICE offices here at Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

And just around this corner. Abby, you probably -- let me see if Emilio (ph) could show you, but actually just around here on this corner here, that's the roadway where the vehicles, ICE vehicles, FBI vehicles, other law enforcement officials, would use to drive into the garage. And what some of the protesters have been trying to do, like what we saw in L.A., is block some of the vehicles from entering. And so the NYPD earlier made a number of arrests. And you hear now this police chief telling everyone to move back.

So, look, I think Abby, it's fair to say that the NYPD is showing a level of restraint here. They had the legal authority based on the announcement they made to make the arrest. They have instead chosen to bring more barriers in and to try to push more of the protesters on the sidewalk.

And I'm now hearing, Abby, again the announcement from the NYPD telling protesters that if they don't leave, they could be arrested. I don't know if you could hear it here now.

PHILLIP: Yes. I see the bullhorn and I hear something. It's not very clear from where we are here in the studio. But, Shimon, it's very clear that the people who are around you are not going anywhere. They are staying, they're recording. They're booing. So, we're going to stay very close with you this hour as this continues.

But for now, let's go to Nick Watt. He's in downtown L.A. where, Nick, we're now just about a half an hour away from that curfew going into place. What's happening where you are?

WATT: Yes. Well, yes, Abby, half an hour away from the curfew and there's still a lot of people out here, shouting, protesting in front of the federal building.

PHILLIP: Sorry to interrupt. We're going to go back to Shimon for just a second. Shimon, what's happening? Let him go.

PROKEUPCZ: Yes. Okay, Abby. So, it looks like the NYPD here is trying to pull somebody out of the crowd. There was some pushing and shoving. And now the NYPD here, they're pushing us back because I think someone may have knocked the barriers down or was trying to knock the barrier down. And then the NYPD police here were trying to pull the person out and I can't see if they've been successful in doing so. But you could see like that we're deep in the crowd here trying to figure out exactly what's going on.

But, again, you know, the NYPD, as I've been saying, has been showing great restraint here. And now, so it's clear, you can hear the crowd chanting, let her go, let her go.

[22:30:05]

So, they clearly have somebody that they have arrested, and you can hear the crowd chanting, "let her go." We --

PHILLIP (voice-over): Yeah.

WATT: So --

PHILLIP: Let's just continue to watch these live images of this unfolds.

WATT: The barriers -- that the barriers were set up for safety. And they are again making more announcements, and we see more pushing now. So, I, okay. I see now what's happening. The NYPD is trying to keep the barrier up because people are pushing, and they're trying to --

UNKNOWN: These are people. These are people. WATT: And so, that's what's happening. The barrier was being pushed

up. So, right now, this again, we're here, Abby, sort of in this standoff between the protesters and the police.

PHILLIP: And for those who are --

WATT (voice-over): -- number of announcements.

PHILLIP (voice-over): For those who are just tuning in, I just want to recap a little bit about where you are, Shimon. You are in Downtown New York by the Federal Building where there is an ICE detention center, and there are dozens, maybe hundreds of protesters still out there. They've been given an order to disperse. The NYPD is putting up barricades around them, but now there is a scuffle.

There is a bit of a conflict that's occurring right now as perhaps the barricades are being pushed down by some of the protesters. We're also waiting to see, as Shimon has been telling us, whether the NYPD will, in fact, carry out their threat to arrest some of these protesters if they do not disperse.

And -- and, Shimon, as you were telling us, the crowd is -- is pretty thick. And in a way, I -- I -- it kind of seems even more crushed than it was before when we started talking to you at the top of the hour. Is it because they've really moved everyone into a smaller area, or are people coming into the protest area?

SHIMON PROCUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): No. I -- I think it's because they moved us into a -- a smaller area. And what happens is when there's activity, so if people are staying off to the side, they'll start coming towards the area where they believe something is happening. And I think that's -- that's what happened.

But the majority, like, when we got here, Abby, most of the people -- some have left, but most have remained despite the several announcements from -- from the NYPD. I'm going to try to get Avilio to move over. Let's show Abby over here what's going on, sort of.

So, this is that street I was talking about that drive that kind of goes into the ICE facility. It's 26 Federal Plaza, and that's the building here. You show her here this building. This is where the ICE facility is. Behind there, that's also where the FBI is. There are other law enforcement, officials that are -- are in that building. I've been in that building several times. I've been in the ICE offices there.

And so, that is where they're they are all housed and many of the people know that. And so, that's why they've been out here for several days. We're seeing some more activity at this point, and I think we're just trying to figure out what the NYPD will do.

At this point, because there are so -- so much of the crowd is remaining on the sidewalk, and now that they've put these barriers down, it's probably safe to say that they're not going to move in and arrest them at this point. I think they're just going to wait and wait this out. And, you know, one of the things that the NYPD does is -- is they wait for the protesters to tire out, and that's where we could be at this point. But for now, the standoff continues.

PHILLIP (voice-over): Yeah. I mean, it certainly seems like they would perhaps need a lot more, people in order to arrest all of the folks around you. But, Shimon, stay where you are, and keep us updated. We'll be right back with you. We're going to go to Nick Watt who is in Downtown L.A. Nick, we were just trying to talk to you as things were happening in New York. We're coming back. Tell us what you are seeing and where you are --

WATT (voice-over): Yeah.

PHILLIP (voice-over): -- actually, right now.

WATT (voice-over): Well, so, Abby, we are outside the Federal Building in Downtown Los Angeles, not the detention center, just the Federal Office Building. And the crowd is still here. The crowd is in fact growing even though that curfew kicks in in under half an hour from now.

Now, many of the people here are clearly protesting ICE. They feel that very strongly. There are some people who I would suggest might be interested in causing some trouble a little later on -- masks, swimming goggles for the tear gas. So, they have been protesting against all of these national guardsmen. These are also federal officers who are guarding this building. Now, this -- there -- there are immigration officers in this building.

[22:35:03]

I actually came here for my citizenship interview a few years ago. And last night, graffiti. There is graffiti behind where these officers are that says "F Trump," other graffiti. They are clearly trying to keep everybody out of this federal building. But the mood in the crowd is getting more agitated as that curfew comes close.

The smell of weed is in the air. People are not looking at all, Abby, like they are going to abide by this curfew and get out of here. Now, the LAPD is also heavy presence in this area. This -- this one square mile that's going to be under curfew in less than half an hour. So, let's see how this plays out, Abby.

PHILLIP: Yeah. We -- we will be watching. Nick Watt, we're going to sneak in a quick break, and we'll be right back to Downtown Los Angeles and New York City, two places that we're keeping a close eye on as protests continue. We'll have much more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:40:43]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA: Trump -- he's not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than January 6th? Ask everyone. Take time. Reflect on this perilous moment. A president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution, perpetuating a unified assault on American traditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): That was Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this evening. We're also watching the streets of New York City where -- that is outside of, a federal building in Downtown New York. There are protesters in some clashes there with NYPD officers who've ordered them to disperse. We're keeping a close eye on that situation.

And our Shimon Procupecz is in the crowd, but we're seeing there's some conversation happening between NYPD officers, a little shoving and pushing. We're waiting to see if NYPD begins a process of arresting these protesters. There are dozens of them out there. A few of them have left, but many are still on the street despite an order to disperse.

Meanwhile, also in Los Angeles, protests continue as we are now just a little under 20 minutes away from the start of a curfew that begins at 8 P.M. Pacific Time. That curfew was ordered by the L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, and it will hold until 6 A.M. What happens if these protesters do not disperse is that according to Bass, they will be arrested.

We're going to see if we need to go to Shimon as things seem to be heating up in New York. But in the meantime, we're going to come into the studio here to talk about what we just heard from Governor Gavin Newsom earlier today.

Joe, just before all of this was happening on the streets, we were talking about Trump because a lot of people have observed correctly that he would have a lot more credibility on the issue of riots, on the issue of violence against law enforcement, had he not taken the step of both encouraging his supporters on January 6th, and also pardoning them once he became president again.

JOE BORELLI, FORMER REPUBLICAN LEADER, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: I think anyone watching this show or maybe, other talking head shows over the next couple of days should play a drinking game where a Democrat who talks about January 6th to distract us from what's happening on June 6th , 7th, 8th, and 9th right now in California is really just trying to avoid the facts.

But let's put what you said into context. There were 46 arrests, in a similar protest in New York City just about two months ago, right? We -- we were watching the same things on TV. Alvin Bragg let out every single one of the 46 people who were arrested for assaulting police officers, for -- for burglarizing, for looting, for breaking property, et cetera. And I'm -- I'm pointing that out because this is what the Democratic Party's playbook is.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: But the thing is, you say that this is just a -- a talking point. It actually happened. It's a thing that actually happened, and you -- you also conveniently would like to forget that it happened. But Donald Trump -- there are people who assaulted police officers with American flags, okay?

(CROSSTALK)

BORELLI: Abby, it's just that every time --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: They broke into the Capitol. At the very least, you could say that is really bad.

(CROSSTALK)

BORELLI: Every time I'm here --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: And Trump shouldn't have pardoned them. And anybody who loots or assaults an officer on the streets of New York or L.A., that is also really bad, and they should be prosecuted.

BORELLI: I have been consistent every single time I'm here. And if you assault a police officer, whether it's June 6th or January 6th, 2021, you should be prosecuted. No ifs, ands, or buts. No -- no, you know, diffusing what I'm trying to say.

PHILLIP: But Trump is not consistent is the point that the -- the -- that's the direction of the question I was pointing to.

BORELLI: But the president is -- is -- been clear on these issues.

PHILLIP: What has he been clear about?

BORELLI: He tried to -- I mean, there's this conversation that -- going on now that that's trying to ignore the fact that the president did offer the National Guard --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: What does he --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELLI: -- on January 6th --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: What does -- what does he -- been clear about as it relates to who is allowed to assault police officers and who is not? Who is allowed to riot and who is not?

BORELLI: But -- nobody should. Again, I'm -- I'm on the same side as you on this.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: But I guess -- I'm saying -- CORNEL WEST (I) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The hypocrisy here --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: It's not about sides.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: I'm just pointing out that he was not clear. That's all.

(CROSSTALK)

WEST: But there is a deeper issue, namely, when you have people across the board who've -- when they look at the law, all they see is lack of morality. When they look at order, all they see is lack of justice.

[22:45:01]

So that -- so that means what? All you get is brute force and raw might. Whoever has the power triumphs, which means no space morality, no space for spirituality, cruelty becomes your main strategy, and empathy is an enemy. So, all we're asking for is -- Sly Stone, "Everybody Is a Star," right? We lost them yesterday.

Those precious Mexican babies, those precious immigrants who are being snatched out of their homes and out of their workplaces, they have the same value as all of us sitting around this table. Now, we should be able to come up with an immigration strategy that is humane enough, that doesn't demonize them and vilify them and lead toward a movement toward -- because where we're really headed --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELLI: You're unhappy that --

WEST: -- we're really headed is a civil war. Let's be honest about this. That's what's happening.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: Trump has suggested that these protestors are being paid by Democrats -- by Democratic leaders in California.

(CROSSTALK)

WEST: That gang's act --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: As you pointed out, Joe, people in the protests are desperate for them to remain peaceful. You -- you just made that -- that note earlier in the show. He has no evidence to support this suggestion that they're being paid. Why does he say things like this?

BORELLI: Well, if you look at California, Abby, what's been going on over the last five days, those were some professionals what they were doing. I mean, they shut down Highway 101. The Hollywood Freeway was shut down, selling hot dogs in the middle of the lanes of 101.

PHILLIP: Okay.

ABEL MALDONADO (R) FORMER CALIFORNIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: And all that, Abby, goes to -- to look what Gavin and Karen were doing at the time, Abby. I mean --

PHILLIP: But what -- but what evidence is there that any of these people are being paid by Democrats?

MALDONADO: Well, I mean, what evidence --

UNKNOWN: I've seen it first-hand in New York.

MALDONADO: These people --

PHILLIP: Hold on. We're not talking about New York. I'm talking about L.A. where Trump said that they were being paid.

(CROSSTALK)

MALDONADO: That, Abby, you look at burning -- who-- who burns vehicles in the --

PHILLIP: Criminals do.

MALDONADO: Criminals do.

PHILLIP: Criminals do. This is a -- this is a country with a long and deep, and troubled history of protests, where there are fires. And they're looting and there is all that stuff. That has happened in this country for decades and decades and decades. That's not new. That's not new.

(CROSSTALK)

MALDONADO: And what did Gavin -- what did Gavin say about that?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Anybody --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: -- could responsibly say that those are being paid by Republicans to provoke tension, and to provoke violence than without evidence, right? And we're just going to throw things out without evidence. But listen, the -- the hypocrisy here of Trump is the point -- of him saying that he sent out all of these thousands of National Guard, and now 700 marines because federal agents were being spit on.

Well, on January 6th, a police officer of the Capitol died the next day because of the stress and strokes that were brought on from the violence on January 6th. And we had several other police officers, Capitol Hill police officers, committing suicide, dying by suicide in the following days and weeks because of the trauma from January 6th.

And yet, he pardoned 1500 of those insurrectionists as the first act of his presidency. And let's also not forget the cost of sending all of these folks to L.A. right now for what he's saying might be 60 days -- a $134 million. And the cost of the parade this weekend, $45 million, while veterans are losing benefits, while veterans are being fired from government jobs.

PHILLIP: Yes, he does. And Democrats have to figure out how to navigate around that because this right here is exactly what Donald Trump would like to see.

(CROSSTALK)

CHUCK ROCHA, SUBSTACK, "THE ROCHA REVOLUTION": This will be on every midterm election ad across the country against Democrats. Remember us all sitting around and talking about the "They-Them" ad? Talking about transgender? You bring up something a little controversial here? It'll be the same thing with these rallies.

It is not true, but he'll say, Democrats are with them, and he' will show a burning card, a Mexican flag. He goes, I'm with you, and he'll show a peaceful family at home. That's the way politics works whether you like it or not.

BORELLI: Is it true -- so, we had recently George Floyd, then the solution was burn the city, loot riot. We had Gaza. We had protesters --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELLI: -- burn the city, loot, riot. We had people with --

ROCHA: Everybody said that we shouldn't be burning or rioting anything. Everybody's agreeing on that. I'm even one who's a Latino who comes from the immigrant family saying if you come here and you break our law in a violent way, you should be sent back.

BORELLI: I disagree.

ROCHA: You can't put us back on our heels on this.

BORELLI: I disagree because Gavin Newsom came out tonight, again, after five nights of rioting and looting in his city and did a political speech against Donald Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

ROCHA: -- that Donald Trump created. These folks would have --

(CROSSTALK)

BORELLI: Oh --

ROCHA: They would have not been in the rallies.

BORELLI: -- enforcing law is not -- enforcing the law is not a problem Donald Trump created. Democrats for a period of time had the House, Senate, and White House. They could have changed immigration laws. They had the power to do that.

(CROSSTALK)

ROCHA: We had a bill and Donald Trump said don't pass it.

(CROSSTALK)

ROCHA: Absolutely.

PHILLIP: Wait a second. All right, guys. We got to take a quick break. I just want to note also, Donald Trump was president for four years. He also could have changed immigration laws, but did not.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIP: All right. We got to take --

UNKNOWN: With the military.

PHILLIP: We got to take a quick break here. We're going to keep our eye on the streets there. Los Angeles is just a few minutes now away from a curfew. New York City -- there's some clashes with New York City Police and protesters. Much more ahead when we come back.

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[22:54:39]

PHILLIP: Welcome back. We are just moments away from the curfew kicking in in Los Angeles. As you can see there, many, many people still on the ground. Right now, though, we are with Paul Rieckhoff. He is an Iraq war veteran and the host of "Independent Americans" podcast. Paul, the backdrop to all of this is Donald Trump's use of the military or his desire to use the military domestically.

[22:55:02]

This is also coming just a couple of days before he's about to have a massive military parade on the streets of Washington D.C.

PAUL RIECKHOFF, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: I've been a National Guard soldier deployed on U.S. soil, but that was for 9-11. This is not 9-11. This is bad. This is stressful. This is -- may -- may grow into a national security situation that -- that expands. But right now, the use of the National Guard and the active duty, in my view, is unprecedented, dangerous, and unnecessary.

And I think what I want to ask folks to think about is, the 18-year- old national guardsman that's stuck in the middle of that right now. Does that have to happen? Deploying our National Guard, deploying our Active Duty should be a last resort when our national security is imminently threatened. I don't think that's the case right now, and I don't think most Americans do either.

And there's a bigger important point. Anytime you send American troops into a mission, you owe them a clear mission. You owe them rules of engagement. And you owe them overwhelming support of the American people.

PHILLIP: We saw --

RIECKHOFF: And we don't have that right now, and that puts our troops and everyone around them in jeopardy.

PHILLIP: We saw the images of these -- these troops practicing how to take, apparently take down protesters. They're not really set up for this type of mission. But at the same time, I mean, Trump was at, Fort Bragg today in front of some family -- military families and cadets, and he basically politicized his speech, had them booing a former president, talking about transgender, women in sports. What did you make of that?

RIECKHOFF: Absolutely unprecedented, dangerous, and unnecessary. I mean, I've been critical of all presidents who politicized their troops at times, but this is way over the line. This is beyond anything we've ever seen where he's encouraging troops to boo the media. He's encouraging them to boo their political -- his political enemies.

He's putting them in the middle of the worst politics of our time, and that is extremely irresponsible. I hope that military leaders will speak out in public and private and call it out for what it is. It's not the type of behavior that we can -- we need to have from our Commander-in- Chief.

PHILLIP: Real quick. Gavin Newsom called what's happening to -- in L.A. a test for Trump of how much power he can exert. Do you agree?

RIECKHOFF: I don't think it's a test. I think it's the first step in what he wants to do more broadly. I think L.A. is the political battlefield in what he has been talking about and setting the stage to do more broadly. I think this is the beginning of what could be a very dangerous new normal for us.

PHILLIP: All right. Paul Rieckhoff, thank you very much. We are watching the streets of Downtown L.A. A curfew is just moments away. We will have much more after a quick break.

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