Gavin Newsom, On Meet the Press, Blasts Trump’s ‘Incomprehensible’ Politicizing of Wildfires – Rips Him for ‘Threatening Our First Responders’

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom lashed out at President-elect Donald Trump for politicizing wildfires in Southern California during an interview with NBC News that aired on Sunday’s Meet the Press.

Network reporter Jacob Soboroff met with Newsom Saturday for a lengthy discussion about the fires, the response to them from the Biden administration, and Trump’s criticism of Newsom and LA County officials.

Trump has accused Newsom and local Democrats of exacerbating the fires. Many hydrants across LA County were empty by last Wednesday after the county’s first and deadliest blaze broke out in Pacific Palisades.

Newsom has vowed an independent investigation and extended an invite to Trump to tour the damage. Soboroff was interested Saturday in Newsom’s response to Trump’s claims that DEI, forest mismanagement, and California’s wildlife preservation efforts for the endangered delta smelt fish contributed to the fires.

Soboroff asked, “President-elect Trump has blamed you for this crisis. He’s called you incompetent. What’s your response?”

Newsom replied:

Well, I called for him to come out, take a look for himself. We want to do it in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist. He’s the president-elect. I respect the office. We have a president of the United States that within 36 hours provided a major disaster declaration over a text. We had support from the President of the United States, Joe Biden, with 100% reimbursement, all the resources you could hope for, imagine, constant communication. I’d like to extend that to the president-elect. I don’t know what he’s referring to when he talks about the Delta smelt in reservoirs. The reservoirs are completely full, the state reservoirs here in Southern California. That mis- and disinformation I don’t think advantages or aids any of us. Responding to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend another month. I’m very familiar with them. Every elected official that he disagrees with is very familiar with them.

Soboroff pointed out a crucial LA County reservoir was empty this past week and Trump had threatened to withhold federal support for California, Newsom lashed out:

NEWSOM: Well, I mean, he’s done it in Utah. He’s done it in Michigan, did it in Puerto Rico. He did it to California back before I was even governor in 2018, until he found out folks in Orange County voted for him and then he decided to give the money. So he’s been at this for years and years and years. It transcends the states, including, by the way, Georgia he threatened similarly. So that’s his style. And we take it seriously to the extent that in the past it’s taken a little bit more time. I’ve been pretty expressive about that in the context of someone threatening our first responders in terms of supporting the immediacy of their needs or recovery of our community –

SOBOROFF: That’s what you take it as, that President-elect Trump is threatening the first responders here?

NEWSOM: Well, I mean, it’s what he said. He said, “I’m not going to support the fire-fighting efforts. I’m not going to support the state of California as it relates to its emergency management,” he made this pretty clear during the election, “unless they do my bidding.”

Watch above via NBC News.