(Adnkronos) – As the battle against the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles continues, which have left at least 24 dead, dozens missing, and over 10,000 structures razed to the ground by the flames, the Democratic leadership of the city and California must face the political battle unleashed against them by Donald Trump and his allies. Instead of providing words of solidarity and support, the tycoon, who will return to the White House next Monday, has for days continued to launch attacks against Governor Gavin Newsom, blaming him for the multiplication of the fires and the inability to put them out.
“The fires are still raging in Los Angeles, the incompetent politicians don’t know how to put them out, what’s wrong with them?”, Trump thundered on Truth Social in the past few hours. Attacks amplified by his staunch ally, billionaire Elon Musk, who reiterated on his social media accusations of incompetence against the fire department because it is led – in compliance with Dei, the plan for racial and gender equity demonized by the US right – for the first time, by a gay woman.
“To respond to Trump’s insults would take a month, I know them well, all politicians who disagree with him know them well,” Newsom said in an interview with Nbcnews in which he called “inaccurate” the claims with which he has been accusing the Democrat for days of having left Los Angeles without water for environmental policies and to protect endangered species.
“Connecting the fish called the ‘delta smelt’ with the fires is unjustifiable because it is not accurate, and this is incomprehensible to anyone who understands the state’s water policies,” added the governor, who in the same interview states that the fires will be one of the worst natural disasters in American history and that the death toll will be much higher.
While responding in harsh tones to Trump’s aggression – “he’s been doing this for years, regardless of the state, remember that he threatened a state like Georgia this way too, it’s his style, we take it seriously insofar as in the past we had to wait longer for federal aid” – the Democratic governor cannot fail to show himself open to dialogue with the person who will be managing the federal response to the disaster starting next week, urging a ‘Marshall Plan’ for the reconstruction of Los Angeles, also in view of the 2028 Olympic Games.
“You have to give credit to President Trump for helping to get the Olympics to Los Angeles, I thank him for that, and this is an opportunity for him, for the country, and for California,” said Newsom, who in recent days has invited the tycoon to go to Los Angeles “to meet with the Americans affected by this disaster and the heroic firefighters and rescue teams.”
The president-elect has not yet responded to Newsom’s invitation, nor has he responded to that of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has also been the subject of a wave of criticism and controversy, including from many Angelenos, for having remained in Ghana, where she had gone to represent the Biden administration at the inauguration of the new president, for a whole day even after the outbreak of the devastating fires, when more than a thousand homes had already been destroyed and 100,000 people evacuated.
Bass told Politico that she had a “good conversation” with the next administration’s team over the weekend, expressing “belief” that Trump will make a visit to California, and a possible date was also discussed.
