Shreveporters continue to defend their city against Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s claim that there is crime “carnage” in Shreveport.
City Councilman Jim Taliaferro is the latest to criticize Newsom’s remarks.
“Gavin needs to check his facts before throwing shade at our city,” Taliaferro said in a statement. “Newsom is cherry picking outdated data.”
During an interview last week with Brian Tyler Cohen, Newsom criticized President Trump’s police takeover in Washington, D.C., and previous National Guard activations in Los Angeles while invoking House Speaker Mike Johnson’s hometown of Shreveport as an example of crime chaos.
“I think (Trump) should start with Shreveport, La., and Speaker Johnson’s district that has six times plus the per capita murder rate of Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco,” Newsom said in the interview. “What about the carnage, Mr. President, in Shreveport? Why aren’t you protecting the folks there?”
Most of Shreveport is actually represented in Congress now by Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, though Johnson still represents a small portion of his hometown. USA Today is seeking comment from Fields.
Johnson and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, both Republicans, quickly condemned Newsom and his comments, while Mayor Tom Arceneaux was more diplomatic but said Newsom’s assessment presented a distorted picture of the city.
All noted a significant decrease in violent crime since Shreveport was listed among America’s top 10 most dangerous cities in 2023.
Taliaferro credited Arceneaux and the police department for a 40% decline in homicides.
“Gavin, you should focus on your own challenges,” Taliaferro said in his statement. “Shreveport’s not perfect, but we are improving every day, and we don’t need an outsider who has never set foot here trying to use us as a political prop.”
Johnson and Landry said Newsom has failed his own state as governor.
Johnson said Newsom “should spend less time commenting on national affairs and trying to subvert state laws for a blatant power grab, and much more time working to change the disastrous, far-left policies that are destroying his state.”
“Gavin has done a great job of wrecking California; we don’t need him doing the same to the rest of the country,” Landry said in a text to USA Today Network.
More: Speaker Mike Johnson, Jeff Landry tell Gavin Newsom to mind his own business after Shreveport insult
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Shreveporters defend city after California Gov. Gavin Newsom carnage claim
