Trump Laments L.A. Wildfires Destroying Homes Of “Some Of The Wealthiest & Most Powerful Individuals In Our Country” In Second Inauguration Address
Proclaiming his second inauguration as “Liberation Day” in America, Donald Trump today lamented the loss of homes for some of the “wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country” in wildfire ravaged Los Angeles.
Set to visit L.A. later this week, the newly sworn-in 47th POTUS took to the lectern in the Capitol rotunda with an inaugural address that was short on the promised unity theme and long on the grievance filled speeches the then former president gave during the bitterly fought 2024 campaign.
More from Deadline
“Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina been treated so badly and other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago, or more recently, Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burned from weeks ago without even a token of defense,” Trump proclaimed to applause from Republicans at the ceremony, which quickly became partisan in nature.
“They are raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now,” the first convicted felon to sit in the Oval Office added of the fires that started on January 7. “They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting, but we can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.”
Behind Trump as he spoke on this ice cold Monday in DC were the very well-heeled likes of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, a frequently smiling Sundar Pichai of Google and unofficial First Buddy Elon Musk — many of whom have homes in Southern California. Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of the banned, not-banned Tik Tok, was at the ceremony today as well. None of their homes appeared to be under threat from the fires, and all still are standing. Further back at the ceremony were Fox kingpin Rupert Murdoch and the top podcaster Joe Rogan, both of whom have been residents of L.A. over the years.
Trump himself has a residence in Beverly Hills and now ex-VP Kamala Harris has a home in the Brentwood neighborhood. The latter was very close to the flames of the harsh Palisades Fire and even saw potential looters on site, but Harris’ home emerged unscathed.
Fulfilling constitutional duties, now former president Joe Biden and former candidate Harris sat mainly stone-faced listening to Trump. Despite the vicious Santa Ana winds hitting the dry region and the fires that exploded, various GOP leaders in Congress have floated the notion of adding conditions to already confirmed federal aid to Southern California. Grounded in L.A. due to the winds making it impossible for Air Force One to take off, Biden fast-tracked federal aid and emergency relief to the region following requests from the city and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
With tens of thousands of acres destroyed, thousands of homes and buildings all over L.A. County decimated, hundreds of thousands evacuated, with many homeless, and dozens dead, the wildfires have been increasingly contained in recent days, However, Monday and Tuesday are predicted to see more deadly winds, as a red flag warning is once again in place as firefighters and other first responders prepare for more potential blazes.
While referring to various homes lost to some of his deep pocketed friends today, Trump did not mention his own Trump National Golf Club resort in Palos Verdes near L.A. That venue has not been turned into n evacuation center as many other similar facilities have, so far.
As expected and today promised in his speech, Trump will be signing a swath of executive orders to overturn much of Biden’s regime, begin mass deportation of illegal immigrants and shutting the southern border, withdrawing again like he did in 2017 from the Paris Climate Accord, and with a very specific list, going full MAGA. Biden may have sat there silently, but Trump’s 2016 rival Hillary Clinton was plainly seen on camera shaking her head and saying “no” to many of the former Celebrity Apprentice host’s proclamations.
The former First Lady and Secretary of State was also seen laughing at Trump’s idea of changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.