Donald Trump is defending the violent detainment of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla by claiming it was justified—because Padilla “looks like an illegal,” according to his longtime biographer.
Michael Wolff, the bestselling author behind multiple insider books on Trump, revealed the president’s remarks during an appearance on The Daily Beast Podcast this week. Describing Trump’s private reaction to footage of federal agents handcuffing Padilla, Wolff said Trump repeatedly dismissed the senator as an unknown and justified the treatment based on Padilla’s appearance.
“Trump saw these pictures and then has been on the phone saying to people, ‘Nobody’s ever heard of this guy,’” Wolff said. “As though that’s an excuse. And then he’s gone on to say, ‘and he looks like an illegal.’”
The incident took place Thursday in Los Angeles, where Padilla had attempted to ask a question during a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Noem was attacking California officials over protests against recent ICE raids. As Padilla pressed her on “exaggerating and embellishing,” he was forcibly removed by security.
Outside the conference room, things escalated quickly. Despite identifying himself repeatedly as a United States senator, Padilla was thrown to the ground by federal agents, including members of the Secret Service and FBI, and handcuffed behind his back.
Wolff said Trump excused the assault with a familiar rationale rooted in fame, race, and stereotype.
“Padilla is actually a relatively new senator from California, nobody knows about this person. Therefore, perfectly understandable that the ICE agents would tackle him. And of course he looks like ‘an illegal,’” Wolff recounted.
He added: “This is just his visceral response: Nobody’s ever heard of him. We can take the blame off the ICE agents because they haven’t heard about this guy.”
Padilla, who became the first Latino president of the Los Angeles City Council and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, is the senior senator from California. He is also the son of Mexican immigrants—something that has not gone unnoticed in the wake of Trump’s remarks.
Wolff said Trump seemed “a little unsettled by the Padilla thing” but is now trying to bury it. The backlash has been swift. Outrage from Democratic lawmakers was expected, but even Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins publicly condemned the treatment of Padilla.
“He’s rationalizing this in some way which might brand him as a complete racist once more,” Wolff said. “Although I’m sure he doesn’t particularly care about that.”
The Trump campaign responded to the allegations by attacking Wolff rather than addressing the substance of the claims. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung issued a blistering statement:
“Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s–t and has been proven to be a fraud. He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.”
Trump’s comments echo the rhetoric that launched his 2016 campaign, when he infamously claimed Mexico was sending criminals across the border:
“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Now, nearly a decade later, Trump appears to be leaning on the same stereotypes—this time to justify a sitting U.S. senator being tackled and cuffed for daring to ask a question.
Watch the video below from the Daily Beast podcast:
