President Donald Trump visited Los Angeles Friday to survey the damage from the devastating Palisades Fire and pledged the full support of the federal government in rebuilding all areas affected by January’s historic fires.
Trump was greeted at LAX by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the two putting a pause on their recent war of words to promise cooperation and collaboration in the rebuilding efforts.
He then departed on Marine One to tour the Palisades Fire burn scar from above, commiserate with homeowners who lost everything and meet with firefighters who have been working around the clock for weeks battling the ongoing blaze.
It was Trump’s first time seeing the devastation in person, having previously only seen the destruction on television.
“I don’t think you can realize how how rough it is, how devastating it is, until you see it. I didn’t realize,” the president said during a roundtable discussion with state and local leaders. “It is devastation. It’s incredible. It’s really an incineration.”
Trump, who has never held back on his disdain for California leadership, and even warned that there would be conditions regarding federal aid, said “we have to work together to get this really worked out.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was among the local leaders on hand for Friday’s discussion at a Los Angeles Fire Department station in Pacific Palisades. She thanked Trump for his presence so shortly after inauguration day and his promise to help the community recover.
“We are 100% committed to getting this neighborhood rebuilt again,” Bass said. “We are expediting that. We absolutely need your help. We need the federal help.”
Trump said if it was up to him, rebuilding work would begin that night, but Bass reaffirmed there was still significant danger to repopulate and reconstruct Pacific Palisades and the Pasadena region, including in the form of hazardous waste that will take weeks to remove.
The president was seemingly unimpressed with the explanation.
“What’s hazardous waste?” Trump asked. “I mean, you’re going to have to define that … I just think you have to allow the people to go on their site and start the process tonight.”
Bass insisted that the rebuilding efforts were being expedited as fast safely possible.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger echoed the mayor’s sentiments, stating that the county is working to ensure nothing stands in the way of the rebuilding process.
“I’ve told our county staff that if you’re going to get in the way, then get another job, because we are all hands on deck,” Barger said. “And quite frankly, if the bureaucracy can’t get out of the way, we’ll just roll over it.”
Trump pledged to override federal permitting requirements to expedite the rebuilding process.
“We’re declaring this a national emergency. By doing that, I can give you immediate permits,” Trump said. “I’d ask that the local permitting process be the same.”
The president acknowledged the challenges faced by residents, many of whom have lost their homes and businesses. He suggested giving homeowners a bonus on the size or height of their new homes to incentivize rebuilding.
Trump also continued his attack on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), criticizing the agency and calling it “incompetently run.” His criticism of FEMA has been a major point of emphasis since taking office, saying he believes disaster relief would be more efficient and effective if handled at the statewide level.
“FEMA is a very expensive, in my opinion, mostly failed situation,” Trump said. “Each state should take care of their problem and get money from the federal government. It would be so much better.”
Trump landed at LAX around 4 p.m. and immediately flew to Pacific Palisades to tour the damage. He did not visit the Eaton Fire in the San Gabriel Valley.
Both areas have been left almost unrecognizable due to the historic fires, which were driven by hurricane-force winds and high temperatures.
The president has consistently criticized the state’s handling of forest land and, recently, has zeroed in on the failure of the local water system to handle the immense stress put on it by fast-moving fires that left fire hydrants running dry.
In one of his first acts as president, Trump signed an executive order to open up water pumps and valves in the north to direct more water to Southern California, saying it would be a “big benefit” in fighting future fires.
Newsom and water management experts have pushed back, saying there wasn’t a literal lever to flip to increase firefighting capacity.
Despite his contentious feelings toward the Golden State and its elected officials, and perhaps incongruent with his wish-list of conditions, President Trump promised the full support of the federal government and said he would be back in the future to celebrate the rebuilding efforts.
“We’re going to have a big celebration soon. We’re going to come back, and we’ll come back as much as you need, and we’re going to turn it around, and we’re going to open the coffers.”
