President Trump gave California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) a very friendly remark when he landed in the Los Angeles area to survey wildfire damage after the two refrained from relief efforts in recent weeks. We exchanged greetings.
Trump walked away from Air Force 1, and the two political rivals shook hands when Newsom met him on the tarmac. They walked to the press and the president said he was grateful that Newsom had him in his state.
“We appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me very much. We'll talk,” Trump said. “We want to fix it. We want to fix the problem. And there's some work to be done, but it's like you've been hit by a bomb.”
Newsom added: “I'm going to need your support. …I'm going to need your help.”
Trump also told reporters he thought he could work for Newsom.
“We want to get something done, and the way you get it done is by working with the governor of the state.
After greetings, Trump and first lady Melania Trump went to the Marine Corps for a tour of Marine damage. Trump later walked on the Fiske Shoot in Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades neighborhood and spoke with police officers and residents who greeted him.
“We won't let you down,” Trump told the firefighters.
The governor said he wanted to greet Trump and thank him for the visit after Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he hadn't thought about whether he would meet one-on-one with Newsom. He said he was on the runway.
Trump and Newsom traded more barbs than wildfire responses. Despite the exchange, Newsom invited Trump to visit the nation and urged him “not to politicize human tragedies or spread disinformation from the sidelines.”
The president also told Fox News, “I don't think they should give anything to California until they get water flowing into their system,” adding that if the state redirects water from the north, the state would It claims to be able to fight fires. to the southern part of the state.
Trump traveled to the Los Angeles area after visiting Asheville, North Carolina, following Hurricane Helen, which arrived in the area in September. He was greeted by Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, when he landed.
Updated at 7:43pm ET.
