Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass strongly criticized Vice President JD Vance on Friday, accusing him of spreading misinformation and showing disrespect toward California Senator Alex Padilla during his recent visit to the city.

The tensions flared shortly after Vance held a press conference where he accused both Mayor Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom of enacting policies that he claimed are putting federal personnel at risk.

“Vice President Vance spent just a few hours in Los Angeles before holding a press conference filled with falsehoods and inflammatory rhetoric intended to stir division in our community,” said Mayor Bass. “This continues a pattern of provocation from Washington that began weeks ago, even as our city remained largely peaceful and productive.”

Bass also took issue with Vance for misidentifying Senator Alex Padilla as “Jose Padilla,” despite claiming to have served alongside him in the Senate.

“How dare you not even know his name?” Bass said. “You say you served with him before you became vice president—and you still serve with him, since the vice president presides over the Senate. To call him ‘Jose’ is not just a mistake, it’s disrespectful. He’s not just anyone to us—he’s our senator.”

In response to Vance’s criticism of the recent demonstrations, the mayor reiterated that the protests had been mostly peaceful and the city remained calm following the lifting of a curfew.

“Even at the height of the unrest, we were talking about a few hundred individuals who were not part of the peaceful protests,” Bass explained. “Los Angeles spans 500 square miles, and any disturbances occurred in a small fraction of that area. Over 100 arrests were made, but let’s remember—we’re a city of nearly 4 million people.”