California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday appeared to take a dig at President-elect Donald Trump as he thanked President Joe Biden for drafting an emergency proclamation amid devastating wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and other parts of the Los Angeles county area.
“President of the United States happens to be in town. It didn’t take more than a text message to get the FMAG [Fire Management Assistance Grants] approved, which means we’re getting reimbursed for the vast majority of these costs,” the California Democrat said at a briefing on the wildfires in the evening. “No politics, no hand-wringing, kissing of the feet.”
“President of the United States said, ‘Yes, what else do you need?’ Emergency proclamations being drafted as we speak,” Newsom continued. “And I just wanna thank the president because that’s something I don’t take for granted and something we should not take for granted at this moment in American history. So, thank you, President Biden.”
Newsom’s comments appeared to be a reference to several former Trump administration officials saying Trump initially withheld disaster aid to states with whom he butted heads during his first term, such as California when it went through wildfires in 2018.
As of Wednesday morning, wildfires in the Los Angeles area — such as the Palisades, Eaton, and Sylmar — have killed at least two civilians, resulted in a “high number” of civilian injuries, burned more than 7,000 acres, and were growing, according to area fire department officials.
