Nithya Raman was back in the hot seat Tuesday night over her pledge to fire LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, refusing to say when she’d pull the trigger as a top ally of Mayor Karen Bass blasted her for misleading voters.
asserted
ally → fire → voters
Pressed directly by The California Post for a timeline, Raman again declined to give a clear answer.
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Raman → press → answer
She took just two questions from reporters afterward, while Bass had City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez field questions on her behalf.
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Rodriguez → take → behalf
Rodriguez wasted no time tearing into the challenger over her shifting statements about McDonnell and a since-deleted social media video portraying the police chief and mayor as “fascist liars.”
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Rodriguez → waste → liars
“That’s nonsense,” Rodriguez fired back when The California Post and other reporters raised Raman’s claim that removing McDonnell would require cooperation from the Police Commission and City Council.
uncertain
removing → ’ → Commission
“It clearly means that she has no idea the power of the mayor’s office,” Rodriguez said.
“On one hand, she says she’s gonna replace the police chief, then she says, ‘Well, it’s not part of my 100-day agenda, and he hasn’t met the moment, but his term expires in 2030, so maybe I’ll do it by then.’
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I → mean → it
Rodriguez accused Raman of telling different audiences what they wanted to hear.
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they → accuse → what
“She’s intentionally, I believe, trying to mislead the public.”
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I → believe → public
Inside NBC4’s Universal City studios, Bass appeared relaxed and confident as the candidates faced off before an in-person audience.
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candidates → appear → audience
Raman, referring to prepared notes, invoked Ronald Reagan’s famous question, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”
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you → refer → question
She accused Bass of being “MIA” during the city’s biggest crises and argued that Angelenos were struggling with homelessness, housing costs and public safety on her watch.
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Angelenos → accuse → watch
But the sharpest exchange came when NBC4 political correspondent Conan Nolan, citing Raman’s previous remarks to The California Post, demanded a straight answer.
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Nolan → come → answer
“For clarity, will you replace the chief before the twenty-eight Summer Olympic Games in LA?”
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you → replace → LA
“I wanna replace the police chief.
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I → replace → chief
I’ve been very clear about that,” Raman insisted.
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Raman → insist → that
“I don’t believe this chief has met the moment.
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chief → believe → moment
I believe he’s lost the trust of Angelenos, especially in response to the ICE raids.
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he → believe → raids
But she wouldn’t commit to a deadline.
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she → commit → deadline
“It is not a unilateral decision by the mayor,” Raman said, pointing to the Police Commission and City Council.
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Raman → say → Commission
Nolan pressed again, raising the security stakes surrounding the Games.
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Nolan → press → Games
“Will you replace the chief before twenty twenty-eight?”
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you → replace → eight
“It will depend on these other factors, on other decision-making bodies,” Raman responded.
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Raman → depend → bodies
Bass pounced.
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Bass → pounce → ?
“It is absolutely in the power of the mayor to fire the police chief,” she countered, warning that replacing McDonnell before the Olympics could disrupt the department’s preparations.
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replacing → fire → preparations
“The problem is that you [Raman] have a tendency to take different positions on different days of the week.”
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you → have → week
Raman previously told The California Post she would replace McDonnell if elected.
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she → tell → McDonnell
But in weekend TV interviews she stressed that his term runs through 2030 and that ousting him wasn’t part of her first 100-day agenda.
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ousting → stress → agenda
On Sunday, she shot down speculation that she might tap former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, whose controversial prosecution policies became a major issue in his 2024 reelection defeat.
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policies → shoot → defeat
I don’t know where the rumors are coming from.
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rumors → know → where
I don’t know him personally,” Raman said.
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Raman → know → him
She had already told The California Post she would not appoint Gascón as chief.
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she → tell → chief
Muddying the waters further: a since-deleted video featuring Raman and left-wing influencer Ed Choi repeating the phrase “Only you can stop fascist liars.”
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you → muddy → liars
The edited clip showed images of Bass and McDonnell — including a red X over the police chief.
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clip → edit → chief
Raman’s campaign reposted it before deleting it amid backlash.
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campaign → reposte → backlash
Nolan also asked whether she had vetted the video.
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she → ask → video
“As soon as we realized that it was a mis-edited video, we took it down,” Raman said.
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Raman → realize → it
She insisted she had been referring to ICE and the Trump administration.
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she → insist → ICE
“I would never imply that this city is fascist or that this mayor is fascist or that our police chief is fascist,” Raman maintained.
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Raman → imply → ?
Bass wasn’t buying it.
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Bass → buy → it
“It made me wonder whether you understood what the word fascism meant, but it also just showed that you’re not ready for prime time,” the mayor blasted.
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mayor → make → time
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
