President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering traveling to Southern California to survey the damage from last week's deadly wildfires.
The visit could take place as early as next week after he is sworn into office on Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported.
The newspaper said the preliminary plan would be finalized after advisers determined whether travel would impede firefighting efforts.
The president-elect has spoken out about the devastating fires in the mountains of Pasadena, blaming the state government, especially Gov. Gavin Newsom, for not having enough resources to extinguish the blazes quickly.
“Fires are still raging in Los Angeles. Incompetent police don't know how to put them out. Thousands of great homes are gone, and many more will soon be gone. Death everywhere. “This is one of the worst disasters in the history of our country. What's wrong with them? They just can't put out the fire.” I wrote this in the post.
Newsom urged Trump to come see for himself the devastation he has caused in California, as federal cleanup efforts and aid will be in his hands after he takes over from President Biden on Monday. Trump was invited.
The Democratic governor said in an NBC interview on Sunday that Trump himself called to extend the invitation, and that cooperation between local and federal governments would be done in “the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist.” He added that he hopes so.
An early visit would give President Trump an opportunity to assess the damage and possibly direct the federal government to provide more aid to those who lost their homes in the fires.
President Biden has contacted local authorities about the California wildfires and directed federal firefighters to help fight the fires.
“At my direction, hundreds of federal personnel and unique air and ground support were sent to California to assist with firefighting efforts and assist communities in need. We are fully committed to assisting and will continue to use every tool available to support emergency firefights as winds are expected to pick up,'' Biden said. stated in a statement.
The president himself has not surveyed the extent of the fire damage, but he was in Los Angeles when the fire broke out last week and canceled a speech he had scheduled in the state.
Trump's transition team did not respond to requests for comment from the Post.
