California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) accused President-elect Donald Trump of politicizing the Los Angeles wildfires, saying Trump is “threatening our first responders.”
Newsom continued his criticism of President Trump in an interview on NBC News' “Meet the Press” on Sunday as fires continue to burn in densely populated areas of California.
Newsom was asked about President Trump blaming governors for the crisis and threatening to withhold federal aid to states if he takes office again.
The California Democrat noted that Trump has threatened many states and many politicians with whom he disagrees.
“He said, 'I'm not going to support firefighting.' I'm not going to support the state in emergency management in California.” 'Unless,' we've made this pretty clear,” Newsom said.
He added that it is Trump's “style” to threaten people, and that Newsom is taking it a little more seriously as he prepares to take office again.
Newsom said he asked Trump to inspect the fire damage himself. He said he respects that Trump won the election, but also noted that the state is receiving immediate federal aid from President Biden.
“We have a President of the United States who declared a major disaster in less than 36 hours by text message. We have received support from President of the United States Joe Biden, including 100 percent reimbursement, all the resources you could expect, and continued communication. ,” Newsom said.
“I would like to convey that to the next president as well,” he continued.
President Trump criticized Newsom, saying he should have signed a proclamation to pump more water to California to avert the fires. Current regulations limit the amount of water that can be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect a fish called smelt.
Newsom said in an interview that he doesn't know what Trump is saying about smelt.
“Even here in Southern California, the state reservoirs are completely full,” he said. “I don't think that kind of misinformation and disinformation is of any benefit or help to us.”
