With protests in resistance to ICE raids pop up around Los Angeles, Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing back against media disinformation.
The former governor of California recently commented on the ongoing demonstrations and media rhetoric that “the whole of Los Angeles is a war zone” as Donald Trump deploys troops around the city.
“I totally agree with you, by the way, Jimmy, because they make it out like it is a war zone — the whole Los Angeles — the whole city or the county,” he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “And the fact of the matter is it’s maybe like 0.001% of the area of Los Angeles has problems and there’s a protest.”
Schwarzenegger continued, “And so, I think this is important for people to know, because I don’t want, all of a sudden, tourism to suffer in Los Angeles because what they see on television. Because the media sometimes shows it as if the whole of Los Angeles is a war zone, which isn’t really the case.”
As Kimmel noted, “None of Los Angeles is a war zone.”
“But this wouldn’t happen if the politicians would do the work,” added Schwarzenegger, accusing Republicans and Democrats of having no interest in addressing comprehensive immigration reform, instead using the issue “to raise money.”
The Golden Globe winner added of the protests, “America will always got out of this mess. And we will get out of this. Believe me, this will be solved, this issue. Los Angeles will always be a great city to come to. I’m very, very proud of Los Angeles. And I think the key thing here is that the federal government, and the state, and the locals work together to solve these problems.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned Donald Trump in a fiery speech after the president deployed nearly 5,000 troops to LA amid ICE raid protests, lambasting the “brazen abuse of power by a sitting president [that] inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk.”
People attend a news conference and rally at a closed car wash where workers were detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in West Los Angeles over the weekend on June 11, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“Look, this isn’t just about protests in LA. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first — but it clearly won’t end here. Other states are next,” said Newsom, adding: “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. The moment we’ve feared has arrived.”
Gov. Newsom’s speech came less than an hour after LA Mayor Karen Bass issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew for tonight on a on-mile square area of DTLA. After Trump Golden federalized State National Guard on June 7 as protestors focused on federal buildings being used as makeshift detention centers, 4,000 members of the Guard are downtown along with 700 U.S. Marines.
Seen by many as a prelude to invoking the Insurrection Act, Trump’s order to put National Guard boots on the tense streets of LA came without any consultation with Newsom, the Governor has said repeatedly the past few days. Newsom’s sharply-crafted words followed a failed effort to get a federal judge to move with haste to place a Temporary Restraining Order on Trump’s control of the California Guard. Trump’s DOJ lawyers were able to convince the Bay Area judge to give them more time. Now a hearing is scheduled for June 12.
