Gavin Newsom “I told the president, just get it over with. Arrest me. Move on. If you need someone’s head to scalp, then do it with me. But stop messing with these kids. Stop messing with four-year-“. See Video⤵️⤵️⤵️

President Donald Trump said Monday that he would arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in what marked a significant escalation in his rhetoric as protests in Los Angeles rage on.

“I’d do it if I were [border czar Tom Homan]. I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity,” Trump said. “He’s done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom. He’s a nice guy but he’s grossly incompetent, everybody knows.”

Trump made the remarks in a brief exchange with reporters Monday after a weekend of protests, during which large groups of demonstrators clashed with law enforcement. Tensions escalated Sunday night in response to Trump’s deployment of the National Guard. Protesters blocked a freeway and set fire to self-driving cars while law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.

Trump’s comments go beyond what border czar Tom Homan has said. While noting that no one is above the law and that Newsom had failed to maintain order, Homan said the administration had not discussed arresting the California governor.

The president’s assertion — that he’d arrest a sitting governor — is the latest example of the on-again, off-again feud the president has had with Newsom. Even as he encouraged his arrest, Trump noted that he liked him.

Newsom earlier dared Homan to make the arrest, mocking him for being a “tough guy.”

“Come after me. Arrest me,” Newsom told NBC News over the weekend “Let’s just get it over with, tough guy.”

Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have argued that Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard further stoked tensions. But Homan said it’s Newsom who has failed to adequately respond to the violent protests, which led the president to step in with a federal response.