Walls of Fire neighborhoods devoured, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee for their lives. But as a cataclysm fueled by windstorms charred swaths of Los Angeles, Donald Trump spotted an opportunity.
The president-elect responded to six massive fires by reopening his long-running feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, quickly lashing out at a Democratic governor and a state likely to become a major opponent of his second-term plans .
Trump and Newsom have clashed bitterly in the past, including over fire prevention, environmental policies, climate change, green vehicles and immigration.
And the new president wasted no time in shifting blame for the simultaneous wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area that have so far killed at least five people.
Trump denounced “the blatant incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum duo” in an article on his Truth Social network. He claimed that California environmental policies that divert fresh water to preserve wetlands and wildlife were responsible for hydrants drying up. “I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to flow INTO CALIFORNIA!” He is responsible for this,” Trump wrote as part of a flurry of social media posts, later writing that Newsom should resign.
In Trump’s disinformation game, it doesn’t matter whether it’s true that Newsom is responsible for diverting water to protect the delta smelt – “a worthless fish” in Trump’s words – and that, therefore, , the homes of Angelenos were burned. The president-elect just needs enough people to believe it might be appropriate to inflict political damage on the governor, who is one of the nation’s most high-profile Democrats and a possible 2028 presidential candidate. .
California is also an ideal target as a liberal state that went for Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s election. The idea of a state and city implementing self-defeating environmental policies fits perfectly with Trump’s narrative that liberal governance in blue states and cities invites chaos, crime, and misery.
“It’s not the government. I can’t wait until January 20th! Trump wrote at Truth Social.
Legitimate questions will arise about how prepared California and Los Angeles are for wildfires. Newsom and city officials will be called to account for any failures — like many politicians tested in the crucible of natural disasters. But in such dire situations, blame usually waits until the crisis ebbs.