Some Dems worry ginned-up Padilla outrage could boomerang on them

Democrats have long specialized in overwrought theatrics and then playing the victim, but there’s a chance that their latest stunt could backfire on them.

The party of bad faith has ginned up the outrage after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed from a Thursday press conference after he aggressively “lunged” at Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as she answered questions in Los Angeles amid violent riots that were instigated by Democrats’ strident anti-ICE rhetoric.

BREAKING: California Democratic Senator @AlexPadilla4CA just crashed DHS Secretary Noem’s press conference in LA and was forcibly removed. pic.twitter.com/Q2sUWiImAM

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 12, 2025

The latest Democrat talking point is that Padilla is a “mild-mannered” man who is a symbol against President Donald J. Trump and his administration’s alleged fascism, a term that is constantly invoked by Democrats who would find a way to resist even if he were to announce a cure for cancer.

But that description flies in the face of the senator’s volatile outburst at Noem’s presser and is about as dishonest as the term “Maryland man” is for human-trafficking MS-13 thug Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The rush to turn Padilla into their latest martyr when ample video evidence exists that he flew off the handle has some concerned that Democrats would be vastly overplaying their hand.

While Democrats all unified behind the Latino loose cannon in their typical lockstep manner, there are some “behind the scenes” who are worried “the incident won’t play well for the party in the long run,” according to The Hill, “especially since the chatter appeared to fall along party lines in the aftermath of Padilla’s removal.”

On Friday, the political news outlet interviewed a number of anonymous Democrats who didn’t want to give their names to publicly break with the party’s “unanimous” messaging defending his bad behavior. The sources said that “they fear the Padilla incident could have negative ramifications as the party tries to find its way back from their devastating loss in November.”

“Here’s the thing: Did it change anyone’s minds or did it just rev up the base?” one unnamed Democrat strategist asked, suggesting that feeding the rage of the party’s maniacal base could boomerang on them.

“This is what we don’t understand. We think these moments will cause outrage, but they miss the point. It’s not swaying anyone. It just makes us look petty,” the strategist added.

Other Democrats admitted that Padilla’s outburst was more “political theater” and “just become another thing for red and blue America to disagree over.”

“I’m not sure it stands out, especially as more Democrats begin to take a stand,” another unnamed party strategist told The Hill. “Let’s put it this way, it’s a zero-sum game.”

Among the Democrats whipping up the emotions of the rabidly anti-Trump base was California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose increasingly seditious rhetoric has him positioned to slide in at the top of a party that has been leaderless since Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama’s coup took out disgraced former President Joe Biden last summer.

If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you. pic.twitter.com/cHmK5KZIVF

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 12, 2025

“If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you,” the Sacramento slickster wrote in a post to X, sharing an image of Padilla being treated like any ordinary citizen would be had they charged a top government official.

As other Democrats filled the airwaves with their angry rants and demands for Noem’s resignation, Padilla himself is fundraising off the incident, showing that it was just more of the same cynical performative antics that are his party’s stock in trade.

“If that’s what they do to a United States senator with a question, imagine what they do to farm workers, day laborers, cooks, and the other nonviolent immigrants they are targeting in California and across the country,” a fundraising note from the California Democrat said, according to The Hill.

If modern-era Democrats have one true gift, it’s their ability to badly misread the American public by consistently taking the wrong side on every 80-20 issue, and in the months since their electoral drubbing, it seems they haven’t learned a damn thing.

Staff Writer

Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.

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