Gov. Gavin Newsom is firing back at President-elect Donald Trump for comments he made Wednesday about the response to deadly wildfires currently devastating Southern California.
Trump spoke with reporters after attending meetings Wednesday on Capitol Hill and accused Newsom of not “[doing] a good job,” but noted they “worked well together” and would again when he takes office later this month.
“It’s very sad because I’ve been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come – you’d have tremendous water up there, they send it out from the Pacific – because they’re trying to protect a tiny little fish,” Trump said. “For the sake of a smelt, they have no water… It’s a mistake of the governor, and you could say, the administration.”
“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground,” Trump wrote. “It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!”
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper earlier on Wednesday, Newsom was asked in general about Trump blaming him for the wildfire disaster.
“One can’t even respond to it. I mean… you know, people are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn apart. Churches burned down,” Newsom told Cooper. “This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts, and I know what I want to say – I won‘t.”
Newsom went on to praise President Biden, saying he “didn‘t play politics.”
Biden visited a fire station Wednesday in Los Angeles alongside Newsom for a briefing from authorities on the raging wildfires.
The California wildfires, which ignited Tuesday afternoon, have already forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. The Los Angeles area fires are threatening at least 28,000 structures. At least five people were killed.
Newsom declared a state of emergency Tuesday after the Palisades fire grew to an unmanageable level.
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