Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faces intense backlash after calling citywide protests "overwhelmingly peaceful" based on a curated aerial tour, sparking outrage over her out-of-touch remarks.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass found herself in hot water after making comments that left many scratching their heads.
She thought taking a helicopter ride would give her credibility on the situation below.
And Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass got roasted after she made this tone-deaf statement while flying above LA’s chaos.
Bass claims protests were "overwhelmingly peaceful" from her bird’s eye view
Los Angeles has been dealing with ongoing protests and civil unrest since early June, with the so-called "No Kings" movement targeting President Donald Trump’s administration.
The situation got so bad that President Trump deployed 700 Marines and 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to restore order.
But Mayor Karen Bass had a very different take on what was happening in her city.
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with host Dana Bash, Bass described the latest wave of protests as "overwhelmingly peaceful."
Her evidence for this claim was that she had surveyed the city from a helicopter during Saturday’s protests.
"I have to say that yesterday I spent time in the helicopter, so I went all over the city in search of these Marines. And I’m sorry, but I just didn’t see them," Bass told Bash.
"What the troops are doing, the Federalized National Guard, is protecting the federal building," she added.
Bass acknowledged that federal troops had been deployed but insisted that local law enforcement had everything under control.
"We don’t want them here. They don’t need to be here. Our local law enforcement have complete control of this situation," Bass stated.
The reality on the ground told a different story
While Bass was enjoying her helicopter tour above Los Angeles, the situation on the street level was far from peaceful.
Federal troops were stationed at the city’s federal building, where tensions escalated throughout Saturday.
According to the Daily Caller News Foundation, Marines detained one individual on Friday, and National Guard troops were seen detaining another person during Saturday’s protest.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, protesters began confronting and taunting National Guard troops near the federal building.
As the situation intensified, law enforcement declared an unlawful assembly.
Both Los Angeles Police Department officers and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies worked to disperse the increasingly hostile crowd.
By 4:18 p.m., tear gas was deployed as protesters refused to follow orders to move.
Some individuals reportedly kicked or threw tear gas canisters back at officers, leading to clashes that continued well into the evening.
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Bass’s helicopter perspective doesn’t match street-level reality
The contrast between Bass’s aerial view and what was actually happening at ground level couldn’t have been starker.
While she claimed to see "overwhelmingly peaceful" protests from her helicopter, law enforcement on the ground was dealing with violent confrontations and had to use tear gas to control the situation.
"There were protests in 15 different locations in our city," Bass said. "I flew over each one of them, and they were overwhelmingly peaceful."
She tried to downplay the violence by suggesting that confrontations at the end of protests were normal.
"It’s not shocking that at the end of a protest that you’re going to have some confrontation. Of course, I wish there was none at all, but I don’t think that characterized the day at all. I mean, otherwise, more than five people would have been arrested," Bass added.
But this wasn’t just a small skirmish at the end of an otherwise peaceful day.
Bass claimed that 30,000 people were in downtown Los Angeles and that protests occurred in 15 different locations across the city.
LA has been dealing with continuous destruction
The problems in Los Angeles didn’t start with Saturday’s protest and Bass’s helicopter ride.
Downtown Los Angeles has experienced ongoing acts of destruction since early June when the "No Kings" demonstrations began.
Waymo autonomous vehicles have been set on fire during the protests.
Numerous businesses have been looted and vandalized.
Public property has been damaged throughout the demonstrations.
The destruction has been so severe that it prompted President Trump to take the rare step of deploying active-duty Marines in addition to National Guard troops.
This marked an unusual federal intervention in a domestic protest situation, showing just how serious the administration considers the threat to public safety in Los Angeles.
Bass and Newsom oppose federal help
Despite the ongoing violence and destruction, both Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom have criticized the federal troop deployment.
They insist that local agencies are fully capable of handling the unrest without federal assistance.
But the facts on the ground suggest otherwise.
The violence has continued for weeks, and local law enforcement has been unable to prevent the destruction of property and threats to public safety.
Bass hasn’t announced any changes to her law enforcement strategy following the weekend’s events, even as more protests are expected in the coming days.
Her helicopter survey approach to assessing the situation has drawn criticism from many who question whether she truly understands what’s happening in her own city.
The disconnect between what Bass claimed to see from her helicopter and what actually occurred on the streets of Los Angeles has become a symbol of out-of-touch leadership.
While she flew above the chaos describing it as peaceful, law enforcement officers and federal troops were dealing with the harsh reality of violent protesters on the ground.
