Trump blames Biden, California governor as Los Angeles fires intensify
US President-elect Donald Trump has blamed California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden for the widespread disaster caused by the Los Angeles wildfires, which have killed five people, destroyed more than 1500 buildings and left more than 1 million people without power.
“Governor Gavin Newscum [sic] refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump wrote in one of several posts on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump, whose term begins in less than a fortnight, added that Newsom “wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water [it didn’t work!], but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”
In a statement responding to Trump’s post, Newsom’s communications director, Izzy Gardon, accused Trump of “playing politics” while the wildfires continued to wreak havoc in Southern California.
“There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction. The governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” Gardon said.
Biden flew to California to attend a briefing on the devastation caused by the fires and then urged people to remember that there was also “good news” – that his granddaughter Naomi had given birth.
“My son [Hunter Biden, Naomi’s father] lives out here with his wife,” Biden said on Wednesday US time at a fire station in Santa Monica.
“They got a notification yesterday, their home is probably burnt to the ground. Today it appears it might still be standing, not sure.
“But the good news is I’m a great-grandfather, as of today,” Biden finished.
Earlier at the press conference, Biden promised to do “anything and everything for as long as it takes” to “contain the fires” in California, as Los Angeles residents expressed their anger at the response to the disaster.
With an estimated 1900 structures destroyed and the flames still growing, the fires have been far more destructive than the second-most destructive in 2008, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, a partnership between the city’s fire department and MySafe:LA.
Officials warned that the gusty winds were forecast to persist with possibly worse conditions to come.
“We are absolutely not out of danger yet, with the strong winds that continue to push through the city and the county today,” Los Angeles City fire chief Kristin Crowley said.
“We’re facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can’t be stated strong enough,” Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, said at the press conference.
Biden said it would be “a hell of a long way” and “take time” to get back to normal after the fires.
Newsom attended the briefing with Biden and expressed his “deep gratitude” to the outgoing president for what he said was an immediate response from the White House, including the declaration of a disaster.
Both the Department of Defence and the National Guard have been deployed to help fight the fires, including the use of aircraft.
Credit: Matt Golding
Vice President Kamala Harris has also been affected by the fire. The neighbourhood where she has a house – upscale Brentwood – is under an evacuation order, her press secretary Ernie Apreza wrote earlier on X.
“No one was in her home at the time,” Apreza wrote on the social media platform.
“She and the second gentleman are praying for the safety of their fellow Californians, the heroic first responders and Secret Service personnel.”
Writing on her X account, Harris sent a personal message to the people of California, saying she too is “a proud daughter” of the state who understands “the damage that wildfires have on our neighbours and communities”.
Harris, who was in Washington on Wednesday delivering a eulogy for the late former president Jimmy Carter, has had to evacuate her LA home twice before.
Trump’s attack plays into a deep vein of Republican dislike for the state of California, the richest economy in the US. The state has a history of strong support for Democrats, much of which is funded by Hollywood’s biggest players, many of whom campaigned and held fundraisers for Harris in her unsuccessful bid for the White House last year.
With AP, Reuters
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