This week following a Republican Governors’ dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis got into a heated exchange with memebrs of the press after one reporter suggested Trump’s criticism of Gavin Newsom’s policy failures contributed to the raging LA wildfires.
The question prompted DeSantis to step forward and ask, “Is it appropriate for people in your industry to try to create division and to try to create narratives any time these things happen?”
“Now, you’re not as interested in doing that because Newsom is a D. If Newsom was a Republican, you guys would go try … you would have him nailed to the wall for what they’re doing over there,” he continued.
“I think your track record of politicizing these things is very, very bad,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis also blasted Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for being in Ghana instead of preparing for the wildfires, which weather forecasts strongly suggested would occur.
“You should have been there preparing and doing that, and yet I don’t see a lot of heat being directed [toward her],” DeSantis said. “I’d like to see some balance on how this is done. You can criticize the president-elect, but you also have to hold these other people accountable, and I have not seen that.”
Watch the moment below:
🚨 HOLY SH*T. Governor Ron DeSantis just absolutely torched this reporter and came to Trump’s defense when they attacked Trump over the criticism of Gavin Newsom. This may be his best moment yet.
REPORTER: “Is it inappropriate to be criticizing [Newsom]-”
DESANTIS: “It’s… pic.twitter.com/SEZWy1zGVS
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 10, 2025
Bass’ response to the wildfires has faced intense scruitny — and being out of the country is just the beginning. Bass also cut more than $17 million dollars out of the fire department budget — a move L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley warned Bass about back in December.
In a memo dated December 4, 2024, Crowley wrote that the nearly $18 million in cuts “severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.”
“Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished,” Crowley wrote in the memo that was presented last month to the Board of Fire Commissioners, a panel of mayoral appointees who oversee the management of the Department, according to a local NBC News affiliate.
Crowley said that the overtime hours funded “Heavy Equipment Operators (HEOs) who make fire control lines around wildland fires, manage firefighting robotics, wildland fire road maintenance, post-fire demolition services, and other allhazard emergency services.”
