Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
LA Fires Add Tricky New Wrinkle to Trump-Newsom Feud
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 1 month ago on
January 22, 2025

Then-President Donald Trump talks with the Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom during a visit to a neighborhood destroyed by the wildfires in Paradise, Nov. 17, 2018. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

As Donald Trump this week assumed the presidency for the second time, he rekindled his personal and political feud with California and its governor, Gavin Newsom, while also inflating Newsom’s obvious ambition to be resistor-in-chief — and perhaps the 2028 Democratic candidate for the White House.

Dan Walters

Opinion

CalMatters

Had Trump lost to Kamala Harris, it probably would have doomed whatever presidential ambitions Newsom might harbor. She presumably would have run for a second term in 2028. Trump’s win did Newsom a big favor since he can only serve one more term, setting the stage for wide-open scrambles in both parties.

On his first day back on the job, Trump once again singled out California for scorn, thereby burnishing Newsom’s standing within his party.

Trump devoted some of his 30-minute inaugural speech to California, alleging — untruthfully — that the state’s leaders allowed Los Angeles wildfires to burn without “a token of defense.”

“They’re raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now,” Trump said.

Later, in another speech to supporters, Trump accused California of voter fraud because it sends out ballots to all voters and doesn’t demand verification of eligibility.

“There’s only one reason that happens: they want to cheat,” Trump said.

Newsom responded blandly in a post on X, saying the Los Angeles fire disaster “underscores the critical need for partnership, a shared commitment to facts and mutual respect — values that enable civil discourse, effective governance, and meaningful action.”

Trump Is in the Driver’s Seat

Newsom said he looks forward to Trump’s visit to the fire scene and added, “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.”

Setting aside humanity, humility, charity, generosity, rationality, reality, and other distractions, the Los Angeles fires add another element to what was already a fraught relationship between two egocentric political figures.

Had the fires not erupted just a few days before Trump took the oath, the two could have entertained political junkies for the next few years. Trump’s assaults on California policies, such as its drive to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles and the allocation of water, would have been met with lawsuits and political resistance, in a replay of Trump’s first term.

However, California is now looking to Washington for billions of dollars to defray firefighting costs, rebuild infrastructure lost in the flames, and help homeowners recover. Trump can either follow through on predecessor Joe Biden’s pledges to help, or refuse the state’s pleas.

Even if Trump agrees to provide relief, he’s likely to demand at least some form of submission from Newsom, as he did during his first term when fire swept through Paradise in 2018. Figuratively, Newsom had to kiss Trump’s ring to get aid. Congressional Republicans have already been pushing for conditions on recovery funding for California.

During his campaign last year, Trump threatened to withhold fire relief funds unless California provided more water to farmers.

Trump might demand even more tangible tribute, such as not opposing arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants, one of his most contentious promises and one that especially affects California.

Difficult for Newsom to Have It Both Ways

Politically, Trump doesn’t owe deeply blue California anything. Making  California politicians eat crow would probably win applause from his supporters in other states, who see California as a cesspool of loony-left politics, squalor, and crime.

Essentially, Newsom must choose between being the governor of California who does whatever is necessary to get the disaster relief his constituents are demanding, and a potential presidential candidate who resists Trump on every point and at any cost.

It will be very difficult for him to have it both ways.

About the Author

Dan Walters is one of the most decorated and widely syndicated columnists in California history, authoring a column four times a week that offers his view and analysis of the state’s political, economic, social, and demographic trends. 

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Make Your Voice Heard

GV Wire encourages vigorous debate from people and organizations on local, state, and national issues. Submit your op-ed to bmcewen@gvwire.com for consideration.

 

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

DON'T MISS

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

DON'T MISS

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

DON'T MISS

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

DON'T MISS

Trump-Putin Summit Preparations Are Underway, Russia Says

DON'T MISS

Warren Buffett Offers Trump Some Advice While Celebrating Berkshire’s Success

DON'T MISS

Hungarians Will Decide Whether Ukraine Can Join the European Union, Orbán Says

DON'T MISS

Wolfie the Handsome Pup Seeks Loving Home After Life in the Wild

DON'T MISS

National Park Service Restores Some Jobs of Those Fired, Will Hire 7,700 Seasonal Workers

UP NEXT

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

UP NEXT

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

UP NEXT

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

UP NEXT

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

UP NEXT

Trump-Putin Summit Preparations Are Underway, Russia Says

UP NEXT

Warren Buffett Offers Trump Some Advice While Celebrating Berkshire’s Success

UP NEXT

Hungarians Will Decide Whether Ukraine Can Join the European Union, Orbán Says

UP NEXT

Wolfie the Handsome Pup Seeks Loving Home After Life in the Wild

UP NEXT

National Park Service Restores Some Jobs of Those Fired, Will Hire 7,700 Seasonal Workers

UP NEXT

Is That Legal? A Guide to Trump’s Big Moves So Far.

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

1 hour ago

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

1 hour ago

Trump-Putin Summit Preparations Are Underway, Russia Says

1 hour ago

Warren Buffett Offers Trump Some Advice While Celebrating Berkshire’s Success

1 hour ago

Hungarians Will Decide Whether Ukraine Can Join the European Union, Orbán Says

1 hour ago

Wolfie the Handsome Pup Seeks Loving Home After Life in the Wild

2 hours ago

National Park Service Restores Some Jobs of Those Fired, Will Hire 7,700 Seasonal Workers

2 hours ago

Is That Legal? A Guide to Trump’s Big Moves So Far.

4 hours ago

Hotels Are So Last Year – Why Everyone’s Sleeping in Castles, Caves and Cranes

4 hours ago

With Trump’s Prostration to Putin, Expect a More Dangerous World

4 hours ago

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

WASHINGTON — New FBI Director Kash Patel has told senior officials that he plans to relocate up to 1,000 employees from Washington to field ...

51 minutes ago

51 minutes ago

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

54 minutes ago

Fired Employees Fear Beloved Yosemite National Park Will Lose Its Luster

57 minutes ago

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

1 hour ago

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

1 hour ago

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think

1 hour ago

Trump-Putin Summit Preparations Are Underway, Russia Says

1 hour ago

Warren Buffett Offers Trump Some Advice While Celebrating Berkshire’s Success

1 hour ago

Hungarians Will Decide Whether Ukraine Can Join the European Union, Orbán Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend