{"id":603543,"date":"2026-05-18T12:45:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=603543"},"modified":"2026-05-18T12:45:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:45:41","slug":"former-la-mayor-dem-candidate-admits-trumps-not-to-blame-for-states-homelessness-cost-crises-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=603543","title":{"rendered":"Former LA mayor, Dem candidate admits Trump\u2019s not to blame for state\u2019s homelessness, cost crises"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

A Democrat running for California governor called out his own party for problems in the state and said President Donald Trump is not to blame.<\/p>\n

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa argued that California\u2019s homelessness crisis and rising costs grew under the leadership of Democrats, and Trump cannot be blamed for the effects of those policies.<\/p>\n

In an interview on MS NOW\u2019s \u201cThe Weekend: Primetime,\u201d Villaraigosa said, \u201cWe can\u2019t put everything on Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Even lifelong Democrat and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa just ADMITTED the truth on MSNBC:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t put everything on Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

California has the highest homelessness, the highest gas prices, the highest utilities, the highest home prices, and people who can\u2019t\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/p7jExU7oK4<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Gunther Eagleman\"\u2122\" (@GuntherEagleman) May 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe have the highest homelessness in the United States of America, the highest gas prices, the highest utilities, and the highest home prices. People can\u2019t afford rent. And those happened under Democratic policies,\u201d Villaraigosa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been the stink bomb in the elevator, if you will, in challenging some of this,\u201d the former mayor, who served from 2005 to 2013, added. \u201cAnd so this candidacy is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

He weighed in on California\u2019s top-two primary system, predicting that the general election would end up with a candidate from each party.<\/p>\n

We had a Senate race, it was a Democrat and Republican. The last governor\u2019s race was a Democrat and Republican. That\u2019s what this one will be,\u201d Villaraigosa said. \u201cIn fact, the experts have said there\u2019s a better chance of two Democrats than two Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the gubernatorial candidate\u2019s remarks about not blaming Trump for California\u2019s woes, he still echoed his fellow Democrats by referring to the president as a \u201cthreat to our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I came out of the civil rights movement. I\u2019m here today because it\u2019s the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act that opened up the country to me,\u201d Villaraigosa said. \u201cAnd Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, he suggested Democrats need to look at themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to look in the mirror,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re losing the middle, you\u2019ve got to look in the mirror and say, \u2018What do we need to do to make the changes we need to restore confidence in us as a party?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Villaraigosa also cautioned about driving up taxes and losing wealthy Californians.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe over rely in this state on the billionaires and on high-net-worth individuals,\u201d he contended. \u201cWe\u2019re a very progressive state, and we have a progressive tax system. And so, if they all leave, we won\u2019t be able to balance our budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Democrat running for California governor called out his own party for problems in the state and said President Donald Trump is not to blame. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa argued that California\u2019s homelessness crisis and rising costs grew under the leadership of Democrats, and Trump cannot be blamed for the effects of those… Continue reading Former LA mayor, Dem candidate admits Trump\u2019s not to blame for state\u2019s homelessness, cost crises<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":603517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-603543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=603543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/603517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=603543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=603543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=603543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}