If you want to talk about political theater, let's start with the thousands of troops that your administration is using as props in Los Angeles.

He knows my name. He's the vice president of the United States. You'd think he'd take the situation in Los Angeles more seriously.

It’s just an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is.

I'm OK. But if they can do that to me, a United States senator...what are they doing to a lot of folks out there when the cameras are not on?

What we've seen here should not be normalized.

The law doesn’t apply to us, and we don’t answer to you.

Donald Trump wants a spectacle not just to distract from his failed policies, but to justify his undemocratic crackdowns and his authoritarian power grabs.

If that’s what they’ll do to a United States Senator for having the audacity to simply ask a question, imagine what they’ll do to any American who dares to speak up.

Padilla recounts 'being handcuffed just for trying to ask a question'

You've seen the video. I was pushed and pulled. Struggled to maintain my balance. I was forced to the ground, first on my knees and then flat on my chest.

Are we truly prepared to live in a country where the president can deploy the armed forces to decide which duly elected governors and mayors can lead our constituents?

Let that fundamentally un-American mission statement sink in.