ANALYSIS.
Fires ignite political backlash against Newsom and Bass for failed fire prevention and woke management
Donald Trump slams Governor Newsom, calls for his resignation over prioritizing radical environmental policies amid L.A. crisis. Mayor Bass faces growing criticism for firefighter cuts and absence during fire outbreak.
Joe Biden and Gavin Newsom prepare to meet the media.
The devastating California fires have sparked a political firestorm over Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both from the more radical wing of the Democratic Party, due to their "woke" fire prevention policies. President-elect Donald Trump called for Newsom's resignation, accusing him of causing the region's water shortage by refusing, under radical environmentalist criteria, to implement solutions that could have resolved the issue years ago.
Through several posts on his Truth Social account, Trump intensified his criticism of Newsom, ultimately calling for his resignation. The president-elect stressed that he couldn’t wait until January 20 to start "fixing" the mess caused by the climate alarmism-driven policies of California’s governor and Joe Biden.
Trump blames Newsom for LA's destruction
The Republican launched his attack by pointing out that the water shortage for fighting fires in Southern California is not a new issue and could have been avoided if Governor Newsom had approved the water restoration plan presented to him during Trump’s first term. The president-elect declared that once he returns to the White House, he will take action to get "this incompetent governor to allow fresh, clean, beautiful water to FLOW TOWARD CALIFORNIA."
"THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!"
Three hours later, Trump erupted after receiving an update on the progress (more like lack thereof) in containing the fires: "Right now, Gavin Newscum and his crew have contained exactly ZERO percent of the fire. It is burning at levels that are even higher than last night. This is not the government. I can't wait until January 20!"
He then posted a second message, criticizing the dire water situation in Los Angeles and adding Joe Biden to his list of targets for leaving FEMA underfunded: "NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!"
"Burning to the ground"
Finally, nine hours later, Trump directly demanded Newsom's resignation, accusing him of being solely responsible for the fact that "one of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America" is "burning down to the ground." Earlier on Thursday, Trump was back at it again with a new post in which he also criticized Mayor Bass' "incompetence."
Newsom criticizes Trump for playing politics with tragedy and refuses to respond
Newsom responded by expressing regret that Trump would use the fires as a political weapon while "people are literally fleeing. Children have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives." The governor chose not to respond directly to the president-elect, stating instead that his focus is on "saving lives and putting out these unprecedented fires."
Karen Bass in the spotlight
Bass' own nominee warned her a month earlier that that these cuts "severely limited the department's ability to prepare for, train for and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires."
In a press conference after her return from Ghana, Bass explained that she had remained in constant communication with department heads and flew back as quickly as possible on a military aircraft. She called on Angelenos to stay united and dismiss what she called "fake news" and "speculation" about her administration.s
Regarding the firefighting water crisis, Bass turned to Janisse Quiñones, CEO of the Water Department, who confirmed that the fire hydrants initially contained three million gallons of water.
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