TJRS Bonus Episode: The Karen Bass Interview

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Joy Reid Show – "TJRS Bonus Episode: The Karen Bass Interview"

Release Date: June 10, 2025

In this engaging bonus episode of The Joy Reid Show, host Joy-Ann Reid conducts a comprehensive interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The conversation delves deep into recent ICE raids in Los Angeles, community responses, political implications, and the broader impact on the city's socio-economic landscape.

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1. Overview of Recent ICE Raids in Los Angeles

Mayor Karen Bass opens the discussion by addressing the unsettling ICE raids that transpired last Friday in Los Angeles. These operations targeted three primary locations: a Home Depot and two warehouses.

• Mayor Bass: [00:57] “Mayor Bass, thank you much so much for being with us.”

• David Huerta: [01:07] “It was Friday. That's right.”

Details of the Raids: David Huerta explains the nature of the raids, highlighting the chaotic scenes reminiscent of a war zone, with federal agents deploying flashbangs to disperse protesters during the ICE operations.

• David Huerta: [01:10] “They showed up in multiple workplaces throughout the city. Three to seven work sites were raided. It sounded like a war zone.”

He emphasizes that these raids targeted not criminals but everyday workers, fostering fear and chaos within the community.

• David Huerta: [02:16] “It's just, it creates a sense of fear and chaos in the city that feels very deliberate.”

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2. Lack of Prior Notification and Community Response

Mayor Bass raises concerns about the absence of prior warnings to city officials and law enforcement about the impending raids.

• Mayor Bass: [02:23] “What were the two other locations?”

• David Huerta: [02:25] “They were warehouses, basically.”

Mayor Bass points out the absence of communication with the LAPD and the school district, questioning the administration's modus operandi.

• David Huerta: [02:30] “We have a very sophisticated, well-established immigrant rights movement here that essentially has been promoting a rapid response network.”

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3. Impact on the Community and Economy

The raids have had a profound impact on Los Angeles' immigrant communities, disrupting daily lives and the local economy dependent on immigrant labor.

Fear and Uncertainty: Residents express fear about attending work, school, and public spaces, fearing sudden detentions.

• David Huerta: [12:22] “People sometimes going to countries that they have no connection to. And the fear that that is.”

Economic Disruption: The mayor discusses how the intimidation tactics threaten the stability of industries reliant on immigrant workers, such as construction and hospitality.

• David Huerta: [15:20] “You have a disruption of our economy. This is a city that is based on immigrant labor.”

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4. Activation and Deployment of the National Guard

A significant point of contention is the federal government's decision to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles without the city's consent, marking a potential overreach of federal authority.

• David Huerta: [07:36] “I actually think they're testing out what happens when the federal government seizes power.”

He questions the necessity of the National Guard's presence, given the relatively peaceful circumstances preceding the raids.

• David Huerta: [08:35] “Our city is vast. Vast.”

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5. Police Response and Vandalism During Protests

The mayor addresses the aggressive response from federal agents and the subsequent vandalism during protests, distinguishing between peaceful demonstrators and those inciting chaos.

• David Huerta: [06:32] “There is a large protest that is expected today, and it's mainly so that it doesn't get out of control.”

He insists that the majority of protests remain peaceful, with only a minority engaging in destructive behavior.

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6. Family and Emotional Impact of Raids

The emotional toll on families is palpable, with constant fear eroding the sense of security within immigrant households.

• David Huerta: [11:25] “There are people who woke up today saying, well, I don't know that I'm going to go to work, because there's people in my workforce, or maybe me, who doesn't have documents.”

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7. Mass Deportation Policies and Legal Immigrants

The discussion shifts to the controversial policies pushing for mass deportations irrespective of an individual's criminal background, impacting even those with legal statuses.

• David Huerta: [12:37] “Today I learned that people who are showing up for their immigration appointments, their annual check-ins, they're here. They're not citizens, but they are legal in the sense that they have green cards, they're going through the process that even they are being detained.”

This raises concerns about the erosion of trust in legal immigration processes.

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8. Sanctuary City Policies and LAPD's Role

Mayor Bass explores the complexities of sanctuary city policies, questioning the LAPD's role in preventing federal detentions without escalating tensions.

• Mayor Bass: [16:23] “Should the LAPD be intervening to help people who are being dragged off by ICE officers?”

• David Huerta: [16:43] “I think that our notion of what was meant by sanctuary city is getting tested like it has never been tested before.”

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9. Potential Legal Actions Against the Federal Administration

The mayor hints at possible legal actions by Los Angeles against the federal government's unauthorized use of the National Guard and aggressive immigration enforcement.

• David Huerta: [19:07] “Now, in Los Angeles, we have an independent elected city attorney. And I know that she is looking at what the ramifications are for the city and whether or not there should be suits.”

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10. Impact on Major Events and Tourism

The deployment of federal forces and the ensuing instability threaten major events like the World Cup and international perceptions of the United States' safety.

• David Huerta: [22:25] “Maybe I won't go play in the United States because the United States is not safe. That's a horrible thing to think that people would view our country that way.”

He underscores the potential long-term damage to tourism and international relations.

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11. Investigation into Mayor Bass and Other Mayors

A contentious issue arises with the revelation that Mayor Bass, along with other mayors, is under investigation for anti-Semitism by the Justice Department's task force led by Leo Terrell.

• David Huerta: [24:38] “I received a notification that I was under investigation for anti Semitism... Leo Terrell is a well-known attorney in Los Angeles.”

• Joy Reid: [25:50] “Because we have tolerated, we have tolerated anti Semitism for the last four years and basically the Trump administration and thank goodness President Trump is in office.”

Joy Reid comments on the gravity and unexpected nature of such investigations.

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12. Democratic Party's Role and Future Outlook

The conversation concludes with reflections on the Democratic Party's efforts and hopes for future leadership under figures like Speaker Jeffries to address and protect communities from such federal overreach.

• David Huerta: [27:15] “I absolutely remember when I was there with President Trump's first term and I remember the angst that people felt around the country that the Democrats weren't doing enough.”

He expresses cautious optimism about the party's capacity to effect meaningful change.

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Notable Quotes:

• David Huerta: “[04:07] Exactly. When no one asked for help, the night when I was trying to prevent this from happening...”
  On the unnecessary escalation during ICE raids.

• Mayor Bass: “[07:15] Do you believe that the Trump administration is setting up a situation where the LAPD will potentially go too far...”
  Questioning federal intentions behind the National Guard deployment.

• David Huerta: “[12:22] People sometimes going to countries that they have no connection to...”
  Highlighting the confusion and fear caused by detaining legal immigrants.

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Conclusion

Mayor Karen Bass and David Huerta provide a detailed and critical analysis of the recent federal actions in Los Angeles, emphasizing the disproportionate impact on immigrant communities, the erosion of trust in local authorities, and the broader implications for civil liberties and the city's economy. The episode underscores the urgent need for coherent policies that protect vulnerable populations while maintaining public order.

Transcript

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[Mayor Bass]

Mayor Bass, thank you much so much for being with us.

[David Huerta]

Sure.

[Mayor Bass]

Let's just talk about what's happened over the last few days. I showed up. Was it Friday? Were the first?

[David Huerta]

It was Friday. That's right.

[Mayor Bass]

Can you tell us where they showed up?

[David Huerta]

Sure. They sold. They showed up in multiple workplaces throughout the city. Three to seven work sites were rated. It sounded like a war zone in.

[Livy Dunn]

Downtown LA with federal agents hurling flashbangs.

[David Huerta]

Into the air, trying to scatter protesters during an ICE raid. They are saying they're doing this because they're going after criminals. They're not going after criminals, they're going after workers. But you know, when the President came in, he talked about violent criminals, he talked about drug dealers, how you go from a drug den, which is where it was supposed to be focused, to Home Depot and people running through the parking lot in Los Angeles and day laborers, the people that hang out at Home Depot looking for work day by day. We have centers like a structure. And so it's a day laborer center. And so to raid a Home Depot, you have people fleeing out of that, fleeing around the parking lot and maybe even into traffic. It's just, it creates a sense of fear and chaos in the city that feels very deliberate.

[Mayor Bass]

Well, let's talk about the three, the three locations. A Home Depot inside of the city of Los Angeles and two other locations. What were the two other locations?

[David Huerta]

They were warehouses, basically.

[Mayor Bass]

Was there a heads up given to you as the mayor that they were coming?

[David Huerta]

Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, I rely on the community response. We have a very sophisticated, well established immigrant rights movement here that essentially has Been promoting a rapid response network. And that means any sightings of ICE in the community will dial into this network and through social media, you will have people come out and protest. The Los Angeles Police Department was not notified. No one in the city was notified. And the school district. No notification.

[Mayor Bass]

The day before those ICE raids, were there protests and was there any sort of incidents as what we've seen in the city of Los Angeles?

[David Huerta]

If you want to look at what has happened in our city, it traces back to Friday. If you go back to our city on Thursday, the city was peaceful. There were no protests. Nothing was happening here. And so you look at the raids that happened the next day in a city like this. That's why it feels like maybe we're part of a test case of what happens if and when the federal government wants to take over a city. So for the president to federalize the National Guard, to take the power away from the governor and say, these are now my troops and I am going to deploy them around the city when no help was asked for.

[Mayor Bass]

Let me break it down just a little bit so that people understand it. What you're saying is nothing's happening. On Thursday, the Trump administration sends ICE into Los Angeles. They raid these three locations. That triggers protests. Then you have the Trump administration then say, aha, there's a crisis.

[David Huerta]

Exactly.

[Mayor Bass]

We need to solve it. With the national.

[David Huerta]

Absolutely. When no one asked for help, the night when I was trying to prevent this from happening, there was a protest that happened at night. There were a few people that were involved in vandalism and should have appropriately been arrested, but it was 100 people. This is a city of 3.8 million. Why was the National Guard needed when Los Angeles Police Department could take care of it? And if they needed any help, there's adjacent police department.

[Mayor Bass]

Let's go back to the. You know, you said there were a hundred people that were protesting. Among those protesting was David Huerta, who was.

[David Huerta]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Mayor Bass]

Was he one of the protesters?

[David Huerta]

No, no, no, no, no, not at all. As a matter of fact, David Huerta was in custody at the time of that protest.

[Mayor Bass]

Talk about his arrest.

[David Huerta]

How did his arrest come about? So what happened is in one of the three locations on Friday, he was at that location just as I described, as part of the Rapid Response Network, to witness what was going on.

[Mayor Bass]

Okay.

[David Huerta]

A scuffle happened with the. With ice. He was arrested. And when he was thrown to the ground, his head. And so he was hospitalized briefly for that. I went to the hospital, I visited him There. And right before, right after my visit, he was being taken into federal custody. We're waiting to see his arraignment will take place today. But I just have to say that he is one of the most respected established labor leaders in our city. He's the president of an SEIU local usw. They have a lot of workers who are janitors, a lot of workers who are at the airport. And so, once again, it was just an unnecessary situation.

[Mayor Bass]

It feels like his arrest was an escalation.

[David Huerta]

It was. Right?

[Mayor Bass]

You agree with that?

[David Huerta]

Yes.

[Mayor Bass]

And at the time that the Donald Trump, that the current president praised the National Guard for, quote, unquote, bringing order to the city of Los Angeles, were the National Guard even?

[David Huerta]

No. No, they weren't. He actually was praising the local police.

[Mayor Bass]

Right.

[David Huerta]

That the National Guard was not here then. Now, the next morning, the National Guard was.

[Mayor Bass]

And where are they deployed?

[David Huerta]

They are deployed in two places in the city of Los Angeles. Two federal buildings, one federal building in Westwood, where there has been absolutely positively no protests related to this. There's always some protests out in front, unrelated than the federal building downtown that had been the scene, a focal point of a lot of the protests.

[Mayor Bass]

And we've seen the tagging. We've got the federal building. We can see there's lots of tagging on the walls, lots of negative messages toward Trump, lots of negative messages toward ice. All of that is a result of what's happened from Friday on.

[David Huerta]

Yes. And I just have to tell you that, you know, people who do that don't tell me you support immigrant rights. Okay. Because there's nothing connected to that level of vandalism that is going to further the cause, the movement to support immigrants in the city. Those are two disconnected issues.

[Mayor Bass]

It's. It seems that the Trump administration created the incident and then is attempting to solve the incident with the federalized National Guard. The National Guard has not been deployed to a state without the state asking for it since 1965. And at that time, it was to. It was to Selma, it was to Alabama, because marchers, peaceful protesters, were being brutalized by local sheriffs. It's a bit ironic that now this ex, you know, this, you know, essentially takeover of the California National Guard is in order. But what do you think that their purpose seems to be?

[David Huerta]

Well, I mean, I actually think they're testing out what happens when the federal government seizes power. I mean, I don't know any other way of looking at it, because you can't say that we deployed the National Guard because the city was in chaos. And mayhem was happening. Mayhem happening with 100 people in a city of almost 4 million? I don't think so. So that's why it makes us feel as though we're a laboratory for what might a laboratory or we're sending a message to other cities. This could happen to you. And I just feel that it is so unfortunate. You have to dial back to the city. On Thursday, nothing was going on here. If the raids had not happened on Friday, nothing would be going on today.

[Mayor Bass]

I can tell you that. We've been driving around the city since Thursday. We arrived actually on Thursday. We came down. It's BET Weekend. It's Pride Month. There are lots of events going on. What we mainly saw was brunch. We saw people living their normal lives. It seems that these incidents are concentrated in a very small part of the city. Is that accurate?

[David Huerta]

Yeah, it is accurate, and thank you for asking that, because you are talking about several streets in downtown. Our city is vast. Vast.

[Mayor Bass]

How big is Los Angeles?

[David Huerta]

Well, the population is 3.8 million, but if you drive around, it's about 500 miles all around. And so our population is very much spread out. But if you look at the coverage, especially the national coverage, you would think we're having widespread citywide unrest, and it's just not the case.

[Mayor Bass]

And that, I think, is backed up of what we've seen visually. But what we have seen is a pretty aggressive LAPD response to what we've seen as a small number of protests. Have the LAPD been too aggressive, in your view? Because they put out a statement saying that the protests were peaceful, but they've been pretty aggressive. Flash flashbangs, seemingly using maybe tear gas, et cetera. And it seems to be on a small.

[David Huerta]

So it's my understanding that that is not the LAPD that is using the flashbangs and the tear gas. That's the federal police. Okay. But the problem is, is that when you have a protest and if it spills into the street and people start doing things like burning up waymos or, you know, vandalizing buildings, the LAPD has got to police the streets. So there is a line that if it's crossed, LAPD has to enter.

[Mayor Bass]

And in your view, LAPD had all of that under control?

[David Huerta]

Yeah, I do believe LAPD did. But let me just qualify it and say that now we're going to look at all of the tapes and look and see the origins of things and what LAPD could have done or not done.

[Mayor Bass]

We're seeing a vast. We can hear the helicopters I don't know if people can hear it on this recording, but they are everywhere.

[David Huerta]

Yes.

[Mayor Bass]

It feels like this section of the city, as you said. If you go three blocks from here, you see nothing. But when you get anywhere near City hall, it's a vast armada of police.

[David Huerta]

Right.

[Mayor Bass]

Why that huge deployment?

[David Huerta]

Well, and it's going to be interesting because there is a large protest that is expected today, and it's mainly so that it doesn't get out of control. Now, the sad thing is that this city, with a very strong history and institutions that fight for immigrants, has protests regularly, and they have always been peaceful. Again, you never know what's going to happen at the end when the protest is over. That's when the element that is not connected to the righteous cause is there.

[Mayor Bass]

Do you know how many people have been, I think, in a lot of people's view, kidnapped, taken into custody by ice. Do you know who they are and where they are?

[David Huerta]

So let me just say that I thought it was around 50. I learned this morning I had a meeting with the immigrant rights groups, and it's over 100, or it might be from 1 to 300 people.

[Mayor Bass]

And do you know the nationalities of those people and their immigration status?

[David Huerta]

No. And not only that, you asked, where are they? We don't know where they are. I mean, and this is a big departure from the past. The people who are in custody are not allowed to have legal counsel. Their families don't necessarily know where they are. You know, you have kids running around looking for their parents. I mean, this is just egregious. I think it's really important to stop for a minute and talk about the emotional impact that this has on families. There are people who woke up today saying, well, I don't know that I'm going to go to work, because there's people in my workforce, or maybe me, who doesn't have documents. Is this the day that I never see my family again? You know, or kids going to school? Well, if I go to school, then maybe my parents won't be here when I get back. That type of fear was spread in the last Trump administration, and I'm worried that all of that comes back, you know, right when things like this happen and people start questioning whether they should leave their house.

[Mayor Bass]

There is reporting that Stephen Miller has demanded 3,000 ICE arrests a day. And then he's putting tremendous pressure on ICE to snatch people. And that should not depend on whether someone has a criminal record. Meaning, go to the Home Depots, go to the 7 11.

[David Huerta]

Let me make it worse. Let me make it worse. Today I learned that people who are showing up for their immigration appointments, their annual check, ins, they're here. They're not citizens, but they are legal in the sense that they have green cards, they're going through the process that even they are being detained. So you show up for your appointment at the immigration office and you get detained and that they have been detaining in addition to the individual that shows up, but their family members, if they're there with them. So you're telling people to become illegal. You're telling people that because why would I go for my legal appointment if you might arrest me? So I'm not going to show up and then I'm out of compliance.

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[Mayor Bass]

See for [e-mail] it feels like Los Angeles and Los Angeles county are an ample feeding ground to do what this administration wants to do. This city is it 50% Latino, heavily Asian American? What is the Asian American percentage over 20%, about less than 10% African American. But if they want to hunt for brown people, this seems like a great place to do it. Talk about the level of fear that you're hearing from your constituents in this city, as you said, to go to school, to go to work, to go to Home Depot.

[David Huerta]

Well, you know, I think telling the stories of people, the nine year old who was going to be deported people, children especially, who are US Citizens, but because their parents are being deported, the whole family gets deported. People sometimes going to countries that they have no connection to. And the fear that that is. So just think about this. The husband maybe goes to the factory. The wife is doing childcare in someone's home. Now you have two situations disrupted. The person, the family who needs the child care might not have somebody taking care of their children, and the husband who's working in a factory, now he's gone. And so you could lose two incomes at the same time or the reverse. You know, the wife who is working in a factory and the husband who might be doing landscaping in a home. It is a disruption of our economy. This is a city that is based on immigrant labor. And if you scare off the workforce for us, how are we going to get major things done?

[Mayor Bass]

To go back to the police for a moment, because there's an argument to be made that if this is a sanctuary city, meaning that police are not supposed to cooperate with ICE and help to detain people based on immigration status, should the LAPD be intervening to help people who are being dragged off by ICE officers?

[David Huerta]

The question is, what does that intervention look like? Because if the suggestion is that LAPD is supposed to get into a contentious conflict with the federal ICE folks, I don't know how that actually plays out. Like they're trying to take someone away. Should the LAPD jump in and try to prevent that person from being taken away? I think that our notion of what was meant by sanctuary city is getting tested like it has never been tested before, because we never question whether leaders would follow the rule of law.

[Mayor Bass]

Do you believe that L. A is being. You said it's being set up as a test case. Do you believe the Trump administration is setting up a situation where the LAPD will potentially go too far in trying to gain regain order in these situations?

[David Huerta]

I don't. Honestly, I don't think so in terms of the LAPD piece, but I do think so because I feel like it's an experiment here. It would been one thing if we were. The city was overrun with undocumented Gang members or, you know, none of that's happening.

[Mayor Bass]

You're saying that gang members are not coalescing at Home Depot?

[David Huerta]

Yes, exactly. That's not.

[Mayor Bass]

Or do you have any idea where these raids are going to go next in your city?

[David Huerta]

Absolutely no idea. I think Home Depot.

[Mayor Bass]

There's no contrast. Oh, no, no, no.

[David Huerta]

Not only that, we don't know how long this is going to last. We've been told all sorts of different things. This is going to go on for 30 days, it's going to go on for 60 days. What does that mean? Are there going to be raids every day? Are there going to be multiple raids every day? What does all of that mean? No, there's no communication.

[Mayor Bass]

How do you protect schools, hospitals, places of worship in a situation like that?

[David Huerta]

Well, I mean, we are fortunate here that we have a very strong superintendent who was also an immigrant, and he is very strong in protecting his students. As a matter of fact, he had a press conference which a number of the union leaders and parents took place in today, and he said that, you know, classes will remain open through the summer. Because one of the things that we learned in the pandemic is that in this city, families were, you know, the schools were playing an important nutrition role for the entire families, where the families were relying on the schools for food. And so we can't have people who now won't go to school. How is the family going to be? I mean, this is just, this is the richest country in the history of the world. Why would we do things like this?

[Mayor Bass]

The governor apparently is filing law, filing a lawsuit because his authority was undermined by the Trump administration. Is there a world in which the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles county also filed suit?

[David Huerta]

Oh, yes, it is. It is. Now, in Los Angeles, we have an independent elected city attorney. And I know that she is looking at what the ramifications are for the city and whether or not there should be suits.

[Mayor Bass]

And so just for those who support the idea of mass deportation and say to themselves, well, there wouldn't be this kind of response if there weren't gang members at those Home Depots, if there weren't gang members running throughout the city, what do you say to them?

[David Huerta]

But they're not. I mean, that's the thing is that if you go to a Home Depot and talk to a day laborer, these are people that are just looking for, for work, legitimate legal work on a day by day basis. Can you imagine just the instability they have to deal with under normal circumstances? Now, is it even an Option for them to go to the Home Depot to see if they can get work on a day to day basis. So you're talking about destabilizing the local economy that is completely dependent on immigrant labor. And you can look at different industries, the construction industry, the hospitality industry, you know, child care, housekeeping, all of the variety of things and sectors of the workforce that are dominated by immigrant labor.

[Mayor Bass]

How much is this impacting the ability to rebuild after the catastrophic fires? You know, the Eaton fire heavily damaged Altadena, the fires in Pasadena and all of these places in your constituency, though you're inside of la, I know they were also damaging. Is there as well, right? How much is this impacting the ability to rebuild if the laborers are afraid.

[David Huerta]

To go to work? Well, and let me say yes, the only jurisdiction I have is the, is the community of Pacific Palisades. We don't know yet. The raids just started on Friday. I will tell you that on Thursday there was no impact.

[Mayor Bass]

Right.

[David Huerta]

On Friday I have to worry that there will be impact and the impact could just be fear, you know, I mean, sometimes it's not that the raid needs to take place place. Just knowing that ICE is in the city creates a sense of insecurity and fear within the community. And I will tell you one thing, I would hate to see if the workforce decided they weren't going to work in the Palisades because if you look at the Latino workforce in terms of construction, you were talking about the overwhelming majority of workers.

[Mayor Bass]

And finally, do you believe that the city was targeted because it is a heavily minority city and because it is a Democrat run, black woman run city? Do you think that had an impact.

[David Huerta]

On the choice of the city? I mean, I just can't tell you why we would have been. I mean, what was the point again? There was not a problem. So when there isn't a problem, when it's a problem looking for, you know, a solution, looking for a problem, then you have to wonder. And a way I have felt overall is let's test the nation's second largest city.

[Mayor Bass]

And do you think they're testing it in order to try to have an Insurrection act moment so that he can declare martial law? That is sort of the conspiracy theory, what people fear. Maybe not a conspiracy theory because he seems to be doing it right.

[David Huerta]

I certainly hope not. That's the only thing that I could say because in a year we're going to have the World cup in this city.

[Mayor Bass]

Yeah. How does that impact the World cup and the Olympics?

[David Huerta]

Well, eight games will be Played here. The World cup is going to last for 40 days. So that's 40 days of watch parties and festivals all over the city. And we can't have a city where people don't want to come to. I'm a soccer player from Bolivia. Do I come to the United States? Will I get detained? So that uncertainty then spreads around the world. Maybe I won't go play in the United States because the United States is not safe. That's a horrible thing to think that people would view our country that way.

[Mayor Bass]

Have you already started to see the impact on tourism in the city?

[David Huerta]

No, no, no. We did definitely see the impacts of tourism around the fires because people then thought that the whole city was inflamed. But. But no, you know, and I think the other impact to tourism is just the general economy.

[Mayor Bass]

Sure.

[David Huerta]

However, I will tell you that tourism has increased from Japan because everybody wants to see Ohtani. So we want Japanese visitors to please come.

[Mayor Bass]

Right. And just, just before we let you go, I do have to ask you about the overall impact of this first hundred plus days of the Trump administration. We know this is a city that is heavily agricultural, meaning that all of these impacts on farm workers are going to impact you. The tariffs here. Big port, very big port. City port, you know, state. How have the impacts of the 100 days been on Los Angeles?

[David Huerta]

Well, first of all, the port, let's talk about that because Los Angeles also has the largest port in the entire Western Hemisphere. 40%, 40% of the goods in the country come through the port in Los Angeles. And so trade absolutely plunged when he started talking about tariffs. Again, the theme that is consistent is uncertainty. And so when that uncertainty is there, then you have, you know, major ship companies around the world saying maybe we should shouldn't go there this time. We will go to South America or Mexico. And so that has had an impact, but it's the uncertainty. Will we have tariffs? Won't we have tariffs? Where will they be? How high will they be? All of that creates uncertainty. You're very welcome.

[Mayor Bass]

Very welcome. And I'm going to wrap here, but I'm going to ask you one bonus question, if I could.

[David Huerta]

Oh, sure.

[Mayor Bass]

So my bonus question, I just want to ask you about this personal investigation of you, yourself and two other leaders are being investigated, investigated by one Leo Terrell. Please explain that investigation.

[David Huerta]

Sure. Well, I received a notification that I was under investigation for anti Semitism, that Mayor Johnson in Chicago was under investigation, that Mayor Adams from New York was also under investigation for anti Semitism. And then I believe that the mayor of Boston is as well. And so Leo, by the Justice Department. Yeah, it is. It's the Department of Justice and I think there is an anti Semitism unit that is headed up by Leo Terrell. Leo Terrell is a well known attorney in Los Angeles. He has been a Fox contributor for years and so he is at the helm of that. And it's interesting you have an African American attorney who is investigating African American mayors.

[Mayor Bass]

Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and head of the Justice Department's task force to combat anti Semitism. A big job right now. How did we get here? Did you ever think that this would be a principal part of your job in 2025?

[Joy Reid]

Not in my lifetime. How did we get here? Because we have tolerated, we have tolerated anti Semitism for the last four years and basically the Trump administration and thank goodness President Trump is in office. Harris, he's not going to tolerate it, he's going to eliminate it. That's why I'm in this role right now. That's why Pam Bondi is the Attorney General and Harmeet Dillon is a civil.

[David Huerta]

Rights for no reason at all. I mean I have no idea why they are investigating Los Angeles. Maybe it's because of USC and ucla. I was very involved in what went on there and so I can't even imagine what the investigation would be. We've not heard anything since the letter. But when you put that out then there's is the concern that at any day that investigation could mean something.

[Mayor Bass]

And the way. Was there any predication? No specified in the letter. Just a generic. We're investigating the mayor. Is it the mayor, you as a mayor, you as an individual or the mayoralty?

[David Huerta]

It's. Well, it's me as an individual and the mayoralty.

[Mayor Bass]

And there you, you, you believe that it's probably related to the pro Palestine protest.

[David Huerta]

I'm guessing that's what it is because I don't know what else. Right. What else it could be.

[Mayor Bass]

What a strange world we live in.

[David Huerta]

Right, exactly. And the world that we live in is that we don't have any structures for us to. No boundaries. We don't know where the line is. And that leads to uncertainty and instability.

[Mayor Bass]

You've been a member of Congress. You know that world very well. Do you have confidence in the party in the response of the Democratic Party has put forward so far in protecting people from this?

[David Huerta]

You know I do and I absolutely remember when I was there with President Trump's first term and I remember the angst that people felt around the country that the Democrats weren't doing enough. And I think that it is hard sometimes to see what Democrats are doing, but the fighting that happens in committees and on the floor doesn't win. So people think nothing's been done.

[Mayor Bass]

Right.

[David Huerta]

And I think that the challenge for people is to understand what it means when you use the word majority. When we have Speaker Jeffries, it'll be a whole new ball game. Yeah.

[Mayor Bass]

Mayor Bass, thank you so much.

[David Huerta]

Oh, you're very welcome. It was an honor to spend time with you.

[Mayor Bass]

Thank you. On the next Joy Reid Show.

[Joy Reid]

The second one is that is creating a false moral equivalent by saying, if you, South Africa, charge Israel with genocide in the International Court of Justice, I'm charging you with genocide of white Afrikaners. If you, South Africa, charge Israel with occupying Palestinian lands in the west bank and Gaza, then I am charging you with confiscating white lands. That is not only a false moral equivalent, it is fundamentally founded on an absolute blue lie.