LOS ANGELES — California’s Democratic leaders pressed President Donald Trump on Friday for federal assistance to help in the state’s recovery from a series of wildfires, with some officials setting aside their past differences with the president to shower him with praise.


What You Need To Know

  • California’s Democratic leaders pressed President Donald Trump on Friday for federal assistance to help in the state’s recovery from a series of wildfires, with some officials setting aside their past differences with the president to shower him with praise

  • Trump, who has threatened to hold up funding, pressured local officials to waive permitting requirements so people can immediately rebuild, pledging that federal permits would be granted promptly

  • Trump was greeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Trump critic whom the president frequently disparages

  • Trump flew over several devastated neighborhoods in Marine One, the presidential helicopter, before landing in Pacific Palisades, a hard-hit community that’s home to some of Southern California’s rich and famous

Trump, who has threatened to hold up funding, pressured local officials to waive permitting requirements so people can immediately rebuild, pledging that federal permits would be granted promptly.

Trump was greeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Trump critic whom the president frequently disparages. The duo chatted amiably and gestured toward cooperation despite their bitter history.

“We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help,” Newsom told Trump. “You were there for us during COVID. I don’t forget that, and I have all the expectations we’ll be able to work together to get a speedy recovery.”

Newsom has praised Trump before when looking for help from the federal government. In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, he called Trump “thoughtful” and “collaborative.”

Trump flew over several devastated neighborhoods in Marine One, the presidential helicopter, before landing in Pacific Palisades, a hard-hit community that’s home to some of Southern California’s rich and famous. Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, he walked a street where all the houses have burned, chatting with residents and police officers.

It takes seeing the damage firsthand to grasp its enormity, Trump said after. The fires, which continue to burn, could end up being the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

“It is devastation. It really is an incineration," Trump said.

Trump’s brief but friendly interaction with Newsom belied the confrontational stance he signaled toward California earlier in the day. Even on the plane en route to Los Angeles, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was using Trump’s disparaging nickname for the governor, “Newscum,” and telling reporters “he has wronged the people of his state” and saying Trump was visiting to pressure Newsom and other officials “to do right by their citizens.”

Trump said Los Angeles residents who lost their homes should be able to get back onto their properties immediately to clear them, adding several told him it will be months before they can rebuild.

Mayor Karen Bass said residents should be able to return home within the week, but keeping people safe from hazardous materials is a top priority. She said the city was easing the process to get permits, but she was repeatedly interrupted by Trump as she tried to explain the city's efforts. He downplayed the concerns about toxins, saying: “What's hazardous waste? We're going to have to define that.”

Before flying to California, Trump reiterated that he wants to extract concessions from the Democratic-led state in return for disaster assistance, including changes to water policies and requirements that voters need to show identification when casting ballots.

Trump has showered California leaders with disdain for water policies that he falsely claimed worsened the recent blazes. He said he would “take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow, but they didn’t let the water flow.”

In Los Angeles, he met with members of Congress and local officials from both parties in a meeting that was at times contentious. Trump again suggested using federal disaster assistance as a bargaining chip during unrelated legislative negotiations over government borrowing, or as leverage to persuade California to change its water policies.

“Playing politics with people’s livelihoods is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the Southern California wildfire victims and to our brave first responders,” Rep. Young Kim, a Republican from Orange County, south of Los Angeles, said in a recent statement.