Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) got his 15 minutes of… well, I wouldn’t call it “fame” exactly because I’m betting most people still don’t know who this guy is despite the little stunt he pulled last week. If you’ll recall, he charged in on a private, Secret Service-protected Homeland Security press conference because he says he simply stumbled upon it and wanted to speak to Secretary Kristi Noem. He was rightfully tackled by security and escorted out of the room.
It was obviously some sort of little publicity stunt that many, even other Democrats, have condemned, but the senator made the media rounds afterward and even used it as a fundraising ploy. This is from Matt:
“If that’s what they do to a United States senator with a question, imagine what they do to farm workers, day laborers, cooks…” Padilla wrote in a breathless fundraising email, exploiting the moment with all the subtlety of a late-night infomercial. He wants you to believe he’s the humble voice of the voiceless, while cashing in on a publicity stunt he clearly orchestrated.
Noem has even spoken on the matter, proving that this wasn’t just some senator who wanted to ask an innocent question. It was political theater: This is also from Matt:
“As soon as he identified himself, appropriate actions were taken,” Noem said. But by that point, the damage had already been done. “Nobody knew who he was; he didn’t say who he was until he was — already had been lunging forward, and people were trying to detain him for quite a period of time.”
What’s most revealing is that Padilla could have gotten the information he claimed he was after — had he behaved like a serious public servant. Noem indicated that the door to a conversation was always open: “If he had requested a meeting, I would have loved to have sat down and had a conversation with him.”
Instead, Padilla went for drama over dialogue. “Coming into a press conference like this is political theater, it’s wrong, and it does a disservice to this country and the people who live here,” Noem said bluntly.
Despite the fact that Noem gave Padilla a 15-minute meeting and said the two would continue to talk, he’s keeping the performance up. Today, he took it to the Senate floor, where he brought out the crocodile tears while continuing the charade that he was the victim of some devastating atrocity.
“I was forced to the ground, first on my knees and then flat on my chest. And as I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking, ‘Why am I being detained?’ Not once did they tell me why,” he said as he cried.
He added, “I pray you never have a moment like this, but I will tell you, in that moment, a lot of questions came to my mind. First of all, where are they taking me? ‘Cause I know I’m not just being escorted out of the building.”
Oh, please. To hear him tell it, no one has ever been treated as badly. The hostages who were held and tortured by Hamas didn’t even act like this, and they had every right to do so. Good grief.
“Am I being arrested here? And what will a city already on edge from being militarized think when they see their United States senator being handcuffed just for trying to ask a question?” he exclaimed, adding, “And what will my wife think? What will our boys think? And I also remember asking myself, if this aggressive escalation is the result of someone speaking up against the abuses and overreach of the Trump administration, was it really worth it?”
He then goes on to, I guess, compare himself to people who have “marched, have protested, have shed blood, even lost their lives to protect our rights?” This man fancies himself a modern-day John Lewis or something, I suppose. Then again, one of his Democrat colleagues in the Senate, Sheldon Whitehouse, posted this on X last week:
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) June 12, 2025
Of course, Whitehouse is the one who belongs to an all-white private beach club, something he called a “long tradition in Rhode Island” when questioned about it a few years ago. These men are disgusting. I rest my case.
Anyway, here are some clips of Padilla’s theatrical performance if you’re interested. Pop your popcorn and enjoy!
Alex Padilla fake cries while explaining how law enforcement protected DHS Secretary Noem from a no-name Senator interrupting her press conference. pic.twitter.com/RqdJth2YVY
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 17, 2025
🚨The moment that NO ONE has been waiting for…@SenPadilla speaks on his recent theatrics during the Noem Immigration Briefing:
“Maybe I could attend this press conference and listen in..they opened the door for me. They accompanied me into the FBI briefing room. And they… pic.twitter.com/GGPnVd6OQu
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 17, 2025
OH! Now @SenAlexPadilla is the victim?😂
“Am I being arrested here?…What will my wife think? What will our boys think?”
Maybe you should’ve thought of them before barging into a private immigration hearing led by one of the most powerful women in America! pic.twitter.com/JnizXgEyx9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 17, 2025
