Donald Trump blames Gavin Newsom for California fires, as Biden pledges 6 months of aid
As greater Los Angeles burns and California endures what may be its most costly disaster ever, President-elect Donald Trump has unleashed a volley of criticism of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Trump demanded Newsom, a Democrat, resign late Wednesday as the fires raged and multiplied, posting on Truth Social, “One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum [sic] should resign. This is all his fault!!!”
President Joe Biden did not directly address Trump's comments at a White House briefing Thursday afternoon as he announced the federal government will cover for 180 days the entire cost of wildfire response measures necessary to protect lives, including debris removal, shelter and first responder salaries.
“We’re going to make sure you get every resource you need,” Biden said. At the end of the briefing, a reporter asked Biden whether he believed California would get the assistance it needs from the incoming administration.
“I’m not in a position to answer that question,” he said. “I pray to God they will.”
More: 10 dead, 10K structures destroyed as LA fires turn neighborhoods into ash: Live updates
A 'Trump versus Newsom thing'
Trump accused Newsom of withholding water from Southern California to protect a tiny northern fish, and claimed Biden has left FEMA with no money, posting “NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME."
Both claims are false, according to fact-checkers, who note that experts said Wednesday there is no connection between Southern California fires and Trump's suggestion, which Newsom opposed, to divert more water to farmers in the Central Valley. FEMA is not out of money, as Congress appropriated $29 billion for it in December after Biden requested $40 billion.
Newsom's director of communications Izzy Gardon fired back Thursday morning:
"The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need," she said in an email to the USA Today network.
Trump and Newsom's war of the words goes back to the presidential campaign, when Trump threatened to withhold disaster relief funds from California if Newsom didn't change certain policies.
During a Sept. 13 news conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Trump claimed that the state’s wildfires could be prevented if California changed how it manages its limited water supply.
“If he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires,” Trump said, referring to Newsom authorizing water diversions to farmers. “And if we don’t give him all the money to put out the fires, he’s got problems.”
Trump “just admitted he will block emergency disaster funds to settle political vendettas,” Newsom responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, at the time. “Today it’s California’s wildfires. Tomorrow it could be hurricane funding for North Carolina or flooding assistance for homeowners in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump doesn’t care about America — he only cares about himself.”
California officials often worked with Trump on disaster aid during his first term. Newsom maintained a mostly collegial relationship with Trump, and even when Trump threatened to withhold disaster aid for fires in 2019, he ultimately approved the money.
The makeup of the Golden State's congressional delegation at that time helped. Although Trump clashed repeatedly with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, he worked well with Rep. Kevin McCarthy of the Central Valley, who was then the GOP leader in the House. Republican members of the state delegation often took the lead when working with the Trump administration on disaster aid for the state.
Rep. Luz Rivas, a Democrat whose northern Los Angeles district was hit by the Hurst Fire, said she's hoping that Trump and Newsom can work together this time as well.
“These fires are not a political game and I am concerned it will turn into that,” Rivas said. “I hope it doesn’t become a Trump versus California or a Trump versus Newsom thing.”
The Hurst fire is the third-largest fire burning in the Los Angeles area, and with most national attention focused on the massive Palisades and Eaton fires, Rivas is worried about working-class and suburban communities in her area in northern Los Angeles County, including Pacoima, Newhall and San Fernando, and the Santa Clarita Valley, getting the resources they need. Federal disaster assistance usually covers the bulk of rebuilding public infrastructure including roads, sewers, schools and fire stations.
"In disasters of this magnitude we rely on federal assistance,” Rivas said. “I just hope that happens, that it is just continuous and that Jan. 20 doesn't mean that anything is going to change with the recovery.”
“I am concerned because of the president-elect’s (past) threats, but I do hope that President-elect Trump does the right thing," Democratic Rep. Judy Chu, who has long represented the now-ravaged community of Altadena, said. "After all, wildfires don’t have any political affiliation. They affect everybody, they affect people of all the political parties – some of whom did indeed vote for President Trump."
She added, "I hope he does the right thing because this is about quality of life for Americans whose lives have been absolutely devastated by this wildfire.”
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., struck a more conciliatory note on Thursday, saying in an email that Congress could work to guarantee funds and continue to persuade Trump as well.
"I have always worked across the aisle to secure relief for Californians and other disaster-stricken communities — that will not change under a Trump administration," he said.
Pentagon, Navy sending equipment, manpower
Biden quickly signed an emergency declaration for the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires, and federal and state forces have responded swiftly to battle the blazes.
"We're doing literally everything we can at a federal level," Biden said. "We're going to continue to expend literally every resource we can find that's appropriate to help the governor and first-responders."
"We are with you," Biden said. "We're going to help you get through this and eventually help you rebuild."
The aid approved by Biden comes from the $100 billion pot of disaster funding Congress approved in December and covers the costs associated with federal firefighters and using federal air tankers to drop water and flame retardant. But that money is set to go to many places, and getting Congress to quickly approve more has proven to be a fight in the past.
As of Thursday morning, at least five people were dead, including a man found holding a hose by the side of the road and an Altadena grandmother who declined to evacuate, and more than 1,000 homes had burned, with five fires scorching about 40 square miles. Close to 200,000 people were evacuated and another half million had no power or clean drinking water. Experts say at least $10 billion in damage has occurred so far, and likely far more.
More: 'Unprecedented' fires still torching LA area; 180,000 told to flee: Live updates
“It is plausible that the Palisades Fire in particular will become the costliest fire on record, period. Not just in California, but in general,” said Daniel Swain, a University of California Los Angeles climatologist, in a briefing Wednesday.
The Pentagon is rushing firefighting equipment and personnel to battle the wildfires in California, including aircraft to help suppress the blazes. The California and Nevada-based National Guard are providing four Modular Airborne Firefighting System units that can convert workhorse C-130 airplanes into airtankers, Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, told reporters, and Biden said four more would be sent, along with 800 federal firefighters.
The Navy is also deploying 10 helicopters with buckets to drop water on the fires.
“Many U.S. military installations in the area have personnel and equipment that can also be surged to fight this awful blaze,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Germany at a meeting of allies supporting Ukraine.
On the ground, the California National Guard has activated two ground firefighting teams and four military police companies to assist local law enforcement and emergency response, Maj. Jennifer Staton, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement.
(This article has been updated to clarify that Trump's comments about withholding aid from California were made during the campaign. )
This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Trump attacks Newsom as Biden pledges wildfire aid for California