In an embarrassing moment, woke Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass admitted that her city was in such bad shape following the anti-ICE riots that it might not be ready to host the World Cup, pointing to how much graffiti had been left behind by rioters acting out in opposition to President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
For background, on June 10, 2025, LA Mayor Karen Bass reflected on the impact of the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests that broke out on June 6 and culminated in the dispatching of the National Guard and the Marines by President Trump. During the conference, Mayor Bass admitted that there was such “extensive” graffiti that Los Angeles might not be prepared to host an event as significant as the 2026 World Cup.
During the press conference, Mayor Bass began by saying that the city had “not received words (sic) of raids” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, adding, ” I think you all understand that the city is not notified when ICE goes to a workplace. What we rely on, frankly, is reporting from the community, especially the immigrant rights organizations that have formed the rapid response network.”
Continuing, Mayor Bass conceded that the “violence we saw last night,” referring to the protests, was “unacceptable,” adding, “I do not believe that individuals that commit vandalism and violence in our city really are in support of immigrants. They have another agenda. If you support immigrants and the rights of immigrants to be in our city, you would not be tearing the city apart or vandalizing it.”
In addition, the mayor tried to downplay the significance and severity of the riots, saying, “Those of us in Los Angeles understand that the unrest that has happened are a few blocks within the downtown area. It is not all of downtown, and it is not all of the city. She continued, “Unfortunately, the visuals make it seem as though our entire city is in flames, and it is not the case at all. I think it’s important to say that.”
Then, Mayor Bass touched on the subject of “the violence and damage” caused by the riots, which she again described as “unacceptable,” saying, “It is not going to be tolerated, and individuals will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. No individual that is involved in vandalism should think because they went home that night that they’re off scot-free, because investigations will take place.”
Embarrassingly, the mayor then admitted that the “extensive vandalism downtown,” specifying “the graffiti that is just blanking a number of blocks” might stop the city from hosting the World Cup, saying, “This is about beautifying our city and bringing our city together. I am calling on business leaders, community leaders, faith leaders to come together downtown in the next few days to talk about how we are going to clean up the city.”
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The mayor added that “city workers are already out there removing the graffiti,” but she clarified, “This is so extensive it’s going to take community-wide involvement.” The mayor then said, “We need people from all over the city to come to downtown and to help with this effort.”
Watch a clip from the press conference:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video