By Nathan Layne, Helen Coster and Alexandra Ulmer
(Reuters) – For California Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders in the left-leaning state, the still raging wildfires could have been an opportunity to demonstrate their competence and unity with the White House in dealing with a natural disaster .
Instead, questions about state preparedness and response to the massive fires have left party leaders vulnerable to escalating attacks from the right, in a possible prelude to the politicization of disaster response under newly-elected President Donald Trump.
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Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have sought to deflect criticism of their leadership by highlighting the unprecedented scale of the wildfires that have leveled entire neighborhoods and killed at least 24 people in less than a week killed.
But with Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk using their social media reach to attack both leaders, the crisis has become a political battle with lines drawn broadly along two competing visions for America: the environmentally conscious and regulatory ethos of the left versus a right-wing skeptic of government expertise and progressive ideas.
Roger Salazar, a Sacramento-based Democratic strategist, said he believes Trump will continue to use California as a political foil once he takes office on Jan. 20, as a way to advance the Republican agenda of regulatory and tax cuts.
“They want less regulation,” said Salazar, who was appointed by Newsom in 2020 to an unpaid position as chairman of a state recreation commission but who is not involved in emergency response. “The easiest way to do that is to demonize those on the other side.”
The political fallout could have serious consequences for the most populous state. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally, said Monday that Congress should impose conditions on aid to California because local officials have mismanaged the response.
Trump, who derogatorily calls the governor “Newscum,” plans to tour the destruction next week, a source familiar with the matter said, following President Joe Biden’s visit to Los Angeles last week, where he spent significant promised federal aid.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last weekend, Newsom criticized Trump and his allies for deploying what he described as disinformation and misinformation on a range of issues, from water and forest management to fish conservation programs.
Several people have claimed — without providing any evidence — that Los Angeles officials were more focused on ensuring racial and gender diversity in the ranks than on fighting fires.
“DEI means people will DIE,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The post has been viewed 38 million times.
Presidents and other political leaders traditionally waited until after a disaster had subsided to express criticism. Trump broke that precedent during the COVID-19 pandemic in his first term, when he openly battled governors.
“His federalism is: If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you,” says Timothy Kneeland, a professor at Nazareth University in Rochester, New York, who has written a book on the politics of natural disasters.
Kneeland said it was counterproductive for Newsom and Bass to have to counter Trump’s broadsides when “all government resources should be focused on putting out these fires, rescuing people and trying to help them recover.”
Zach Seidl, a spokesman for Bass, said the mayor was “laser focused” on keeping Angelenos safe and protecting property.
“She has secured the federal, state and local resources we need to continue fighting these fires and is moving forward with an all of the above plan for recovery.”
Representatives for Newsom, Trump and Musk did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
NEWSOM AS FOIL
Many political analysts expected Newsom to use the run-up to Trump’s inauguration and the early days of his presidency as a period to establish himself as a standard-bearer for his party. He is forced to play defense instead.
“Newsom should be living in Los Angeles right now and very focused on this disaster,” said Jon Fleischman, former executive director of the Republican Party of California. “Is that going to prevent him from really engaging with Trump and positioning himself as the alternative for 2028? Probably yes. But on the other hand, setbacks also create opportunities.”
Newsom has admitted that a number of things went wrong.
For example, he has called for an independent investigation into the local water supply after several fire hydrants went dry on Wednesday, especially in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Officials have said the city had filled all available tanks ahead of the storm, including in Palisades. Municipal water systems worked effectively, officials said, but were not designed to fight wildfires. Palisades quickly depleted its three water tanks.
Trump has used his Truth Social platform to portray the water shortages and widespread destruction as evidence of “gross incompetence and mismanagement by the Biden/Newscum Duo.”
Bass, who was on an official trip to Ghana on Tuesday when the fires broke out, has faced similar criticism from Trump. When Bass was asked about her travels at a news conference last week, she declined to answer directly.
Trump also falsely claimed that Newsom prioritized the conservation of small endangered fish called smelt over public safety. In the Meet the Press interview, Newsom called any connection between the fish and the fire “inexcusable because it is inaccurate.”
The ongoing clash over the fires reflects a broader effort by Trump and his allies to portray Newsom — and Democratic leaders elsewhere — as part of the wealthy establishment that is out of step with large parts of the American public.
It’s how Musk himself made a decision in June to move the headquarters of both SpaceX and of a child.
Political scientist Henry Brady of Berkeley said the attack on California made political sense for conservatives.
“Watch Fox News,” he said. “California is the boogeyman. California has cities spiraling out of control. California is doing all these crazy things with climate change. We are the people who have sanctuary cities and the place where people are being woken up beyond belief.”
He added: “Punishing California is, from their perspective, a positive good.”
(Reporting by Nathan Layne and Helen Coster in New York; Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Lincoln Feast.)