President Trump and California Gov. Newsom put aside their animosity Friday and embraced each other on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport ahead of their tour of the city’s wildfires.
“Thank you for being here. It means a great deal, not just to the folks in Palisades, but also the folks in Altadena, that were devastated,” said Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, referring to the two largest wildfires.
“We are going to need your support. We are going to need your help. You were there for us during COVID. I don’t forget that and I have all the expectations that we are going to be able to work together to get this speedy recovery,” the governor continued.
Mr. Trump nodded and simply said, “We’re going to get it done.”
After the meeting, Mr. Trump and Mr. Newsom planned to tour the regions devastated by the wildfires, which started several weeks ago and are still not fully contained. Several more started this week.
The two leaders have exchanged sharp barbs over the handling of the wildfires. As he departed the White House Friday morning, Mr. Trump wondered why the wildfires were still burning.
The president said the fires “could have been put out. They still haven’t for whatever reason.”
“It would be fine if they turned the water on,” he continued.
Mr. Trump has promised to “take care” of Los Angeles but also suggested federal aid to California could be withheld unless the state adopts certain policy changes. He blamed the lack of water to fight the fires on the state’s efforts to protect the delta smelt, a small fish that Mr. Trump blames for California’s water shortage.
On his first day, Mr. Trump issued a memorandum calling for “putting people over fish.” He said that had the state not changed its water policies to preserve the endangered fish, more water would flow from Northern California to Southern California.
This week, Mr. Trump said he didn’t know if would meet Mr. Newsom in California, and the governor said he hadn’t spoken to the president but planned to be on the tarmac for Mr. Trump’s arrival.
Mr. Trump spent much of an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity railing against Mr. Newsom, saying the fire response made the country look “helpless” and “weak.”
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Mr. Newsom has strongly pushed back against Mr. Trump’s comments, saying “connecting the delta smelt to this fire … is inexcusable because it’s inaccurate. Also, incomprehensible to anyone who understands water policy in this state.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.