California Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted President-elect Donald Trump’s response to the California wildfires in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” recorded Saturday, saying, “Mis- and disinformation I don’t think advantages or aids any of us.” Newsom appeared to be referring to Trump’s posts on Truth Social blasting Newsom, President Joe Biden and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass since the fires broke out Tuesday.
During an exclusive interview with NBC News Correspondent Jacob Soboroff, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) says he wants President-elect Donald Trump to “take a look for himself” at the damage created by wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
With fires still burning in Los Angeles after several days, some have been accusing politicians of mismanaging resources and making the fires worse. President-elect Donald Trump has pointed a finger squarely at California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who he said is responsible for LA’s struggling water supply. A lack of water for firefighter’s hoses has been cited as one of the reasons the fires have burned so long. Meanwhile, others have blamed LA Mayor Karen Bass for cutting the city’s fire department budget.
Did LA Mayor cut fire department budget?
LA Mayor Karen Bass has faced criticism over cuts to the city’s fire department budget.
For the latest financial year, the LA Fire Department (LAFD) budget was reduced by $17.6m (£14.3m).
LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told CNN that the budget cut had “severely” affected the department’s ability to respond to the disaster.
She said the department was already under-staffed and the elimination of civilian positions, like mechanics, had meant that 100 fire apparatuses were out of service.
Mayor Bass responded to the criticism, saying: “There were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days.”
According to the LA Times, after the 2024-25 budget was passed, the city council approved $53m in pay raises for firefighters and $58m for new kit, such as firetrucks.
Once that funding is taken into account, the fire department’s operating budget technically grew this year, according to the newspaper.
The LAFD has an overall budget of approaching $1bn, and it isn’t the only department responding to the fires. Gov. Newsome responded on social media to the .
“A lot of misinformation out there. Just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to fact-based data around the Southern CA wildfires. The TRUTH: – CA did NOT cut our firefighting budget. We have nearly doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet. – CA has INCREASED forest management ten-fold since we took office. – California will NOT allow for looting.
Get the facts: http://californiafirefacts.com “
