With President Biden now in political retirement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is quickly becoming one of President Trump’s top targets.
And Trump, minutes into his second term as president, used his inauguration address inside the U.S. Capitol to take aim at the Democratic governor of the nation’s most populous state.
“Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency,” Trump argued. And he pointed to “Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burned from weeks ago without even a token of defense.”
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Trump this month has repeatedly criticized Newsom’s handling of the horrific wildfires that have razed parts of metropolitan Los Angeles, killing nearly 30 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
POLITICAL FIRESTORM: NEWSOM DEFENDS HIS EFFORTS TO FIGHT CALIFORNIA’S HORRIFIC BLAZES
The governor’s press office quickly pushed back, posting on social media four photos of firefighters tackling the blazes.
Trump will head to California on Friday to get a firsthand view of the firefighting and recovery efforts.
“I’m going to go out there on Friday to see it and to get it moving back,” Trump said at an inaugural eve rally in the nation’s capital. “We’re going to get some of the best builders in the world. We’ll get it moving back.”
Newsom, who over a week ago invited Trump to California, said in a statement on Monday following the inauguration ceremony, “I look forward to President Trump’s visit to Los Angeles and his mobilization of the full weight of the federal government to help our fellow Americans recover and rebuild.”
And he emphasized “finding common ground and striving toward shared goals” with the Trump administration.
“In the face of one of the worst natural disasters in America’s history, this moment underscores the critical need for partnership, a shared commitment to facts, and mutual respect – values that enable civil discourse, effective governance, and meaningful action,” the governor said.
Newsom added that “where our shared principles are aligned, my administration stands ready to work with the Trump-Vance administration to deliver solutions and serve the nearly 40 million Californians we jointly represent.”
Newsom was a top surrogate on the 2024 campaign trail for Biden and later former Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden last summer as the Democrats’ nominee.
The governor, who is term-limited and likely has national ambitions in 2028, was a vocal Trump critic on the 2024 campaign trail and has taken a lead in leading the Democratic Party’s resistance in the wake of Trump’s presidential election victory.
