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Trump blames democrats for Los Angeles wildfires, sparks political clash
President-elect Donald Trump ignited a political feud on Thursday, targeting outgoing President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom over the wildfires devastating Los Angeles.
Trump used the disaster as a platform to criticize Democratic leadership, accusing Newsom of mismanagement and alleging baseless claims about water misuse.
Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump lashed out at Newsom, a Democrat considered a potential future presidential contender. “Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” Trump wrote, using his characteristic nickname for the California governor.
Trump also tied the fires to his broader critique of the Biden administration, declaring: “Let this serve, and be emblematic, of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum Duo. January 20 cannot come fast enough.”
President Biden, who stayed in Washington to manage the crisis instead of traveling to Italy as planned, responded by urging Americans not to politicize the disaster. “I’m leaving this office very shortly, but it’s not about the politics,” Biden said during a White House meeting with officials. “It’s about giving people some sense of security that we’re going to be able to get this under control.”
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Biden announced new federal funding and resources to help California combat what he called “the most devastating wildfires in the state’s history.”
He also rejected Trump’s claims that water shortages were hampering firefighting efforts, attributing the problem instead to power outages caused by utility companies shutting down electricity to prevent faulty lines from sparking more fires.
“In crisis, rumors and fear spread very quickly,” Biden said during the meeting. “It allows for a lot of uninformed people to make… accusations about the local officials not caring.”
Trump accused Newsom of diverting water to protect a fish species, calling the smelt “essentially worthless” and claiming the move hindered firefighting efforts. “They’re blocking the flow of snow melt to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!),” Trump alleged.
Governor Newsom dismissed the accusations during a CNN interview, stating: “People are literally fleeing… This guy wanted to politicize it.”
Biden emphasized the role of climate change in the worsening wildfires, a stance likely to clash with Trump’s upcoming administration. Trump has repeatedly threatened to roll back U.S. efforts to address global warming, calling Biden’s climate initiatives part of a “Green New Scam.”
The president-elect previously claimed Biden diverted funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to climate policies and migrant assistance. Biden has consistently denied these allegations.
The wildfire crisis has also fueled conspiracy theories, with social media platforms awash in unsubstantiated claims. These include assertions that firefighting resources were sent to Ukraine and that diversity policies have reduced the number of firefighters available.
Elon Musk, a Trump ally and owner of X (formerly Twitter), amplified some of these conspiracy theories, adding to the political tensions surrounding the disaster.
As Los Angeles grapples with the ongoing fires, the debate over their cause and response underscores the deep political divisions in the country. Biden and Newsom continue to focus on addressing the crisis, while Trump leverages the situation to rally his supporters and criticize Democratic leadership.
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