CNN
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A wall of fire ravaged neighborhoods, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee for their lives. But amidst the carnage that scorched areas of Los Angeles due to strong winds, Donald Trump saw an opportunity.
The president-elect has renewed his long-running feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over six major flare-ups, in a state where he is likely to emerge as a key opponent of the Democratic governor’s plans for a second term. He responded with a jab early on.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Newsom have clashed sharply over issues such as fire safety, environmental policy, climate change, green cars and immigration.
And the president-elect wasted no time in holding people accountable for simultaneous wildfires in the Los Angeles area that have killed at least five people so far.
In a post on his Truth social network, President Trump condemned the “gross incompetence and mismanagement of Biden and the newscam duo.” He blamed the depletion of fire hydrants on California’s environmental policies that divert fresh water to protect wetlands and wildlife. “I call on this incompetent governor to allow beautiful, clean fresh water to flow into California! He is responsible for this,” Trump wrote as part of a series of posts on social media. , later wrote that Newsom should resign.
In Trump’s misinformation game, Newsom was responsible for diverting water to protect Delta smelt (a “worthless fish” in Trump’s words), which resulted in the burning down of Angeleno residents’ homes. Whether or not it’s true is not very important. Enough people believe the president-elect may be able to do political damage to the governor, who is one of the most high-profile Democrats in the nation and a potential 2028 presidential candidate. is necessary.
California is also an easy target, as it is a liberal state that supported Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s election. The conceit that states and cities are imposing self-defeating environmental policies fits perfectly with President Trump’s argument that liberal governance in blue states and cities leads to chaos, crime, and misery.
“This is not the government. I can’t wait until January 20th!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
There will be legitimate questions about the state of California and the city of Los Angeles’ level of fire preparedness. Like many politicians tested in the crucible of natural disasters, Newsom and city officials will be held accountable for any failures. But in dire situations like this, the blame usually waits for the crisis to subside.
Newsom told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he “can’t even react” to Trump’s attacks. “Literally, people were running away, people were losing their lives, children were losing their schools, families were being torn apart, churches were being burned down. This man tried to politicize it.”
The governor added, “There’s a lot I want to say, but I won’t.”
In this particular case, President Trump’s complaint that the freshwater issue was the cause of the difficulty in responding appeared, at best, to be a gross simplification of the complex factors at play.
But after speaking with Republican senators on Thursday, the president-elect doubled down on his stance.
“This is a true tragedy and a mistake on the part of the governor,” President Trump told reporters. “They don’t have water. They have millions and millions of gallons of water and they’re pumping it out into the Pacific Ocean.”
But water officials said hydrants in the Pacific Palisades ran dry early Wednesday, but Southern California had enough water to put out the fire. The logistics of getting enough to the Pacific Palisades were overwhelmed by the amount firefighters needed to bring the fires under control and were prohibitively expensive.
Still, President Trump’s attack was a distinctive attempt to politicize a natural disaster that is still unfolding. “We’re focused on saving lives and fighting fires, not playing politics,” Newsom spokesman Anthony York told CNN.
The usual approach for national leaders when disaster strikes is to bury partisan grievances, unite behind Americans in need, and pledge to stand by the victims for as long as necessary.
Even Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has often sparred with Newsom and California in the past, particularly over pandemic lockdowns, offered prayers and assistance to California. “When disaster strikes, we must come together to help our fellow citizens in any way possible,” DeSantis wrote to X.
Newsom praised his fellow Democrat, President Joe Biden, for quickly flexing the federal government’s muscle as the hellish situation escalated with a major disaster declaration.
“It’s impossible to express in words the level of gratitude and cooperation I’ve received from the White House during this administration,” Newsom said Wednesday alongside the president in Santa Monica. “On behalf of all of us, Mr. President, thank you for being here.”
Biden said the federal government was prepared to use “everything possible” to contain the fires and cited multiple military deployments to combat the disaster. But he ended his media appearances on a tone of harsh note, announcing the arrival of a new member of his family after his granddaughter Naomi gave birth at a local hospital. “The good news is I’m a great-grandfather starting today,” he said.
The White House announced late Wednesday that Biden would cancel a planned trip to Rome, Italy, this week, suspending his trip in the final days of his presidency to monitor wildfires.
President Trump’s attacks on Biden and Newsom are his latest attempt to paint the outgoing administration as incompetent and an obvious attempt to flatter his own incoming White House team. It is intended.
His comments suggest that his second administration, which begins in 11 days, will be as unconventional and chaotic as the first, punctuated by outbursts of anger on social media against opponents even in times of crisis. Suggests.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Newsom are deeply antagonistic, exacerbated by their vastly different ideologies and the fact that powerful California has the power to derail some of the president-elect’s political priorities. are.
President Trump has also been particular about forest management and fire prevention, claiming that Democratic areas are not doing enough to clear leaves, which is the cause of many fires.
In November 2019, President Trump wrote on Twitter at the time: “California Governor @GavinNewsom has done a terrible job managing our forests.” “I told him from the first day we met that he had to ‘clean’ the forest floor regardless.” What his boss, an environmental activist, is demanding of him. You also have to burn yourself and cut off the fire hydrant…”
Trump’s previous tweets during California’s wildfire crisis seemed incongruous at the time, following his praise of Newsom for his efforts to help the state.
Environmentalists say the real problem making California vulnerable to worsening wildfire seasons is something President Trump is unwilling to acknowledge exists: climate change. In the current crisis, parched land and unseasonably warm temperatures have made Los Angeles a tinderbox and highly vulnerable to additional roaring, strong winds that spread the fire.
During California’s other wildfire crisis, which burned millions of acres in 2020, President Trump rejected pleas from the state’s natural resources secretary, Wade Crowfoot, to acknowledge the effects of global warming.
“It’s going to get cooler. We’re just going to watch,” Trump said. When Mr. Crowfoot asked him to look into the science, he added: “Actually, I don’t think science knows.”
Trump insisted on Wednesday at the Capitol that he and Newsom “got along great” despite their differences.
But their new estrangement could be problematic as California could soon seek hundreds of millions of dollars in federal disaster aid from the Republican-controlled White House and Congress.
“It looks like we’re going to have to rebuild,” Trump said after speaking with senators.
And Mr. Trump and Mr. Newsom will be at odds over more than just fires. The governor has already promised to take action if President Trump tries to eliminate the electric vehicle tax credit. And the state is likely to be at the forefront of legal efforts to block Trump administration policies in a number of areas, including immigration and reproductive rights.
There have been many examples of Mr. Trump using national crises for political purposes.
In 2017, it was criticized for its response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico and killed nearly 3,000 people. Blame is passed around when relief efforts are insufficient, and the president at the time is not solely responsible for the failure of the federal and local governments. But he repeatedly blamed local leaders, complained about the level of aid needed, and falsely claimed the operation was an “incredible and unheralded success.”
And President Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic includes multiple instances of him trying to preserve political capital, which ironically helped seal his defeat in the 2020 election. was.
Most recently, President Trump addressed the Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and falsely implied on social media that the suspect was an illegal immigrant who had recently crossed the southern border.
It was a reminder that in times of national stress, an incoming president’s first response can sometimes be to pursue political gain instead of promoting unity and a fact-based response.
