Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying hard not to get blamed for his state’s abject failure to respond to the Los Angeles County fires. The man has presidential aspirations, and this natural disaster could burn those aspirations to ash. Newsom seems more focused on trying to score points by slamming Donald Trump’s legitimate criticism of how the state has handled the fires. It’s a top-down mess. And what Trump has posted on social media is a 2.0 on the Richter scale compared to what’s coming from residents when these fires settle.
Gavin Newsom: Libs of TikTok is lying that there’s no water!
Firefighters: There’s no water.
.@GavinNewsom owes me an apology. pic.twitter.com/JcJbCOx4PM
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 12, 2025
The firefighters had no water. The Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget was cut by almost $20 million months before the blaze, even with memos showing Mayor Karen Bass that such cuts could detrimentally impact disaster response. The LAFD chief, Kristin Crowley, has torched the political leadership, which led to a standoff between the fire department and the mayor’s office on Friday. Yet, Chief Crowley isn’t absolved of her role, focusing on woke DEI initiatives instead of keeping her men and women abreast of trainings that dealt with—I don’t know—stopping and preventing fires. She had them do bias workshops. It’s a mess.
Now, watch Newsom get fact-checked live by NBC News, where he said that the reservoirs are full, which is a lie
Gavin Newsom: All our water reservoirs are full!
Reporter: Actually one reservoir was empty
Gavin Newsom: Oh yeah we’re investigating that pic.twitter.com/6BIfls54iW
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 12, 2025