“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary described Los Angeles as a “war zone” with “horrific” consequences for small businesses while weighing in on the anti-ICE riots plaguing the deep blue city on Wednesday.
“If you’re a small business… and you see these images of windows being smashed, cars burnt, baseball bats on someone’s property, this is not good management of a state, obviously,” he said on “Varney & Co.”
The O’Leary Ventures chairman said the damage dealt to small businesses in the area isn’t as physical as it is financial, meaning shoppers will avoid the area to prevent getting caught up in the unrest.
LOS ANGELES BUSINESS OWNERS ‘SICK AND TIRED’ OF ‘STUPID’ ANTI-ICE RIOTERS LOOTING THEIR STORES
“I’m not going down there to buy anything, nobody is,” he said.
“So your business is massively disrupted, even if they haven’t smashed your windows. And that may take a long time to recover from if you’re a dry cleaner, if you are a restaurant, if you are an auto repair company. It’s a war zone.”
Anti-ICE riots erupted in the deep blue city last Friday and remain active, with images from the scene showcasing cars set ablaze and law enforcement apprehending unruly individuals.
CALIFORNIA LT. GOVERNOR SAYS LOS ANGELES RIOTS ARE ‘GENERATED BY DONALD TRUMP’
President Donald Trump activated 4,000 National Guard troops and sent 700 U.S. Marines to the city to restore order. The decision garnered pushback from Democrats like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the former of whom argued the decision threatens state sovereignty.
Newsom has insisted that the Trump administration’s federal involvement has only inflamed the issue.
The governor, on Tuesday, said anti-ICE protesters who engage in violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law while also criticizing Trump for a “brazen abuse of power” in sending troops to respond to demonstrations.
O’Leary did not directly answer when asked whether Trump or Newsom is politically “winning” in this situation, but did say he knows who’s losing.
“The people of California [are losing]. They should really look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘What the hell are we doing?’ I’m here, and I’m looking outside saying, ‘This is not the L.A. I knew 20 years ago. It just isn’t.”
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