En route to Los Angeles, Trump adds new conditions to fire aid and sidelines Newsom

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As President Donald Trump announced his intention to travel to Los Angeles to assess the damage caused by the fire, the question has been surrounding his planned visit: Will Gov. Gavin Newpom accompany him?

The tension between the newly installed Republican president and the Democratic governor of California, public enemies who, however, They worked together routinely in disaster recovery During Trump’s first term — it erupted alongside the fires that have ravaged the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other strips of the Los Angeles area over the past two weeks. The confrontation appears to have drawn federal support in California, even as Newsom publicly offered an Olive Tree branch to Trump.

Furious about the early response to the disaster, Trump repeatedly criticized the governor, whom he called a “newspaperman” for spreading misinformation about the cause of the fire and suggested that California will not receive regular federal aid For reimbursement, unless you change your water policy, your Forest policy Oh, with Sanctuary policy on immigration.

Although the governor quickly extended an invitation to Trump To visit Los Angeles in an effort to lower the temperature of the unusually politicized furor surrounding the natural disaster, Newson acknowledged Thursday afternoon that he still had not heard back from the president, less than a day before he was expected to land in California.

Barring Newsom, it would be a tough rebuke of the governor, who met with Trump when he traveled to the California wildfires in 2018. and 2020 On Wednesday, the president told Fox News host Sean Hannity, who may not extend Newsom the same courtesy this time this time this time this time this time this time this time this time: “I don’t know. I haven’t even thought about it,” Trump said.

But Newsom was upbeat with reporters Thursday after Approve $2.5 billion in fire recovery funds which it is hoped will eventually be reimbursed by the federal government. He promised to be at the airport today to receive Trump, even if a spokesman said his office did not yet know in what airport. And Newsom said he expects the president to finally “do the right thing” for Los Angeles.

“I’m glad, come here. I appreciate the president taking the time,” Newsom said. “And I hope it comes with a spirit of cooperation and collaboration. This is the spirit with which we welcome him. “

It’s common for chairmen and governors of opposing political parties to face policy differences and then join forces when natural disasters strike, said state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, whose district was badly damaged by the Palisades fire.

“It would be a delicate balance with any president, and it’s no doubt more delicate with this president,” he told Calmatters. “It might seem a little confusing, and maybe it is, but it’s also an integral part of our federal system.”

Newsom is at a precarious point in his relationship with Trump. While it initially put California at the forefront of renewed resistance after Trump won a second term in November and even called a special session to Financial litigation against the incoming administrationNewsom now depends on the goodwill of a federal government that is almost completely under Trump’s influence.

It is not clear how much federal aid will be provided. Since the fires broke out in Los Angeles more than two weeks ago, Trump said they were Newsom’s fault and even called for his resignation. With the support of many Republicans in Congress, the president has also threatened to freeze or condition disaster aid.

“I don’t think The false claims that angels don’t have water To fight these fires because the state is not sending enough water south from Northern California.

Newsom has largely, if not quite, backed off his attacks on Trump in recent weeks. He has largely kept a low profile ahead of the president’s visit, working on the Los Angeles fire response. After the president mistakenly complained in Monday’s inaugural address that the fires were burning “without even a hint of defense,” Newsom issued a friendly statement that emphasized “finding common ground and working toward shared goals” with the Trump administration .

“In the face of one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States, this moment underscores the critical need for association, a commitment shared with mutual facts,” Newsom said.

However, he also criticized several of Trump’s first executive orders on immigration and climate change on social media, and then sent an email to his supporters mocking the passage of Trump’s inaugural address as “nonsense” and an “insult” to firefighters

Meanwhile, the governor’s special session on the Trump administration’s “protection of California values” continues, and state Senate Democrats voted Thursday to advance $25 million in legal fees. Republican lawmakers criticized the session as a distraction from the wildfire response and an unnecessary attack on the president.

Allen, the Santa Monica senator, said he understands that Trump is making good on his campaign promises to Americans who support him, but that California politicians would be remiss if they didn’t act because voters elected them with a different view of how managing the country.

“We want and our constituents want us to work with the federal government to help in areas where there is mutual agreement and need,” he said. “The other side of the coin is that we are also part of the loyal opposition.”

Newsom told reporters Thursday that it was important for the state to prepare to fight Trump as it seeks the president’s help, pointing out that Trump has “already attacked the Fourteenth Amendment” with his Day One executive order challenging rightful citizenship of birth, what California immediately sued to stop it.

The governor evoked the “great relationship” he had with Trump during the Covid pandemic, when they spoke almost weekly, and said he did not expect the special session to be affected because it was “nothing personal” but based on “Major political disagreements”.

“It’s a situation. They don’t give it more importance than necessary,” Newsom said. “I’m here for the long haul to support the president where we can, to defend our values ​​where we need to.”

This article was originally published by Calmatters.