President-elect Donald Trump criticized California’s leaders while discussing the devastating Los Angeles fires in a live phone interview with Newsmax‘s Rob Schmitt. During the interview, Schmitt asked Trump if he would visit LA to tour the damage with the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom as he did in 2018. However, the politician diverted from the subject and described the current fires as “different” from the previous blaze. Thus, he left it unclear whether he would travel to the city amid the raging fire or after his January 20 inauguration.
Reports say Trump’s team is planning a trip to LA
Several reports stated that California Governor Gavin Newsom sent Donald Trump a letter inviting him to visit LA amid the deadly fires. NBC News reported that two sources familiar with the subject revealed Trump’s team is discussing his potential visit to the state to examine the heavy damage and destruction the fires caused after sparking on January 7.
However, the president-elect’s transition spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, refused to disclose information concerning the trip. Hence, it remains unclear whether Trump will travel before or after his January 20 inauguration. The outlet stated Vice President-elect JD Vance spoke to “Fox News Sunday” about knowing that Trump “wants to visit California.” Vance also did not provide any other details about the said travel plans.
Furthermore, CBS News confirmed that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass informed reporters about her direct involvement in these trip discussions. Bass had a positive response to Trump’s possible visit to LA as the fire continues to burn and claimed she has been communicating with members of his team.
Donald Trump says ongoing LA fire is ‘different than 2018’
Most recently, Donald Trump described the ongoing LA fires as “different than 2018” when a fire destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres. During the phone interview with Newsmax, Trump said, “This is different than 2018” after Schmitt asked if he would visit and tour the damage in LA with Newsom like before. He said while the previous blaze was different from this one, “the exact same factors,” which he revealed was the underbrush, caused it.
Trump also disclosed that he has plans for the state, “We’re going to do this with Los Angeles, You know I’m already putting my developer cap on.” He then went on to further describe the destruction, “I just saw some very guarded pictures of it and it’s far worse than you even see on television.” He believes the damage is “greater” than what getting hit by a nuclear weapon could have caused with “miles and miles of houses just burned to a crisp.” Moreover, the 78-year-old said he had “never seen anything like it before.”
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, multiple fires continue to burn in Los Angeles. The Palisades fire has burned more than 23,000 acres with only 14% containment. Elsewhere, Donald Trump appears ready for his inauguration on Monday, with performers such as Carrie Underwood and Village People performing at the ceremony.
