Political experts weigh-in on 'war of words' between Trump and state lawmakers

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- It has been an unprecedented week in politics as relations between state lawmakers and the federal government seem to have reached a boiling point - and now, some people are wondering how much of an impact this 'war of words' will have on this year's mid-term elections.

President Trump's administration has grown increasingly frustrated over California's sanctuary status, as well as Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf's decision to inform the public of ICE raids being conducted in her community.

RELATED: Trump criticizes Schaaf for ICE warning, Schaaf fires back

Trump said: "They say 85 percent of them were criminals and the mayor went out and she warned them all."

"Here's my message to Mayor Schaaf, how dare you?" said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "How dare you needlessly endanger the lives of our law enforcement officers to promote a radical open-borders agenda?"

As those above statements are scrutinized, in terms of the numerical figure and the open-borders claim, some experts say the verbal attacks could turn out to be a gift to the California Democratic Party, in relation to voter outreach and fundraising efforts.

RELATED: Oakland mayor responds to Trump calling her ICE warning a 'disgrace'

"What I think these attacks failed to realize is that California politicians are responding to the median voter in the state," says Matt Lesenyie, Ph.D., who is serving as a post-doctoral fellow at Santa Clara University. "They're actually delivering good representation for California voters."

In a move that'll certainly play to his play of supporters, President Trump plans to visit San Diego next week to inspect prototypes for his proposed border wall.

"Republicans in California on immigration are just as conservative as Republicans in Oklahoma or other states that they might think is more conservative, so to the extent that the President talks about immigration out here, it is an issue that will unify Republicans to a large degree," says Lanhee Chen, Ph.D., a research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, who also serves as a Republican strategist and advisor.

Others say the President's trip to Southern California will likely add to the polarized nature of our current political landscape.

"We also have a large number of Latino statewide candidates that are being prompted in part by President Trump's policies, so they're using that in their speeches, to encourage the community to come on out," says Andres Quintero, Evergreen Valley College political science professor.

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