Bass: Trump Assertion We Pay Protesters ‘Absolutely Absurd’

Tuesday on CNN’s “OutFront,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) said President Donald Trump’s comment that she and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) “paid troublemakers” was “absolutely absurd.”

Host Erin Burnett said, “I just want to give you a chance to respond to what President Trump said today. I know you’ve been in meetings all day, you may not have heard some of it. But he gave a prolonged speech at Fort Bragg, in which he talked about what’s happening here in Los Angeles. When he was referring to you Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom, I’m going to quote it because I don’t know if you were fully connected and could hear it. But he said, and I’m quoting, ‘They are incompetent, and they paid troublemakers, agitators, and insurrectionists. They are engaged in the willful attempt to nullify federal law and aid the occupation of the city by criminal invaders.’”

Bass said, “Whoa. Wait a minute. Are you telling me that he said we paid for the violence to take place? Is that what you just said?”

Burnett said, “I’m just quoting to you what he said. As our Kristen Holmes reported, it’s sometimes unclear exactly what he means or is saying, but that is the quote of what he said.”

Bass said, “Well, let me just say it is absolutely absurd that either myself or the governor would be supportive in any way, shape, or form to the vandalism and violence taking place in our city. I guess he has not heard any of my comments or any of my press conferences, because I have been abundantly clear that what is happening on our streets is unacceptable. When it is criminal behavior, people will be arrested and prosecuted.”

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