The chorus of disapproval rang out loud and true after California Democrat Senator Alex Padilla’s extremely disruptive behavior at a Thursday press conference held by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.
Among them, somewhat surprisingly, was ESPN hot-take artist and possible future Democrat presidential candidate Stephen A. Smith.
Padilla loudly and forcefully interrupted Noem as he ignored security and began shouting questions at the secretary. Security reacted quickly and stopped Padilla before turning him around and eventually forcing him to the ground and handcuffing him.
On Thursday’s Stephen A. Smith Show, the ESPN analyst took Padila to task for his conduct.
“Can Kristi Noem speak? Could you have waited till she finished to ask your questions, to shout your questions?” Smith asked rhetorically. “You are a senator, right? You couldn’t wait? So that was just you out of control because you were just losing it, huh?
“You — a United States senator — couldn’t compose yourself and let the head of Homeland Security finish her thoughts before you asked a question? Couldn’t do that, huh? Couldn’t do it, huh?”
Smith continued with the line of rhetorical questions, illustrating Padilla’s disrespectful and disorderly conduct.
“We all know you could have waited for her to finish speaking,” Smith clarified. However, he pointed out that the agents should not have handcuffed the California senator.
“They had no business putting cuffs on Senator Padilla. Escorting him out of the room — even forcibly — was within bounds. The Secretary of Homeland Security was speaking. You let her finish. You don’t want to let her finish? Then, hey, they definitely should have removed you from the room. That is it. They didn’t need to put you on the ground. They didn’t need to handcuff you. All they needed to do was keep you out of the room.”
Noem was speaking about the riots and ongoing unrest directed at immigration, customs, and enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles at the time of Padilla’s unauthorized intrusion.
Smith has left open he idea of running for the Democrat nomination in 2028. Should he do so, his take on Padilla’s disruption will cost him with Democrat voters. However, on this issue, he’s entirely correct.