Home » Stakes are high for Newsom and California when Trump visits L.A. wildfires – Jobsmaa.com

Stakes are high for Newsom and California when Trump visits L.A. wildfires – Jobsmaa.com

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Trump have shared a surprisingly symbiotic relationship during the Republican's first term in the White House, with their public ebullience and ability to work together in times of crisis elevating both politicians.

Whether the two can overcome an ugly 2024 election cycle and resume a respectful relationship for the benefit of Californians should be clearer, perhaps as soon as Friday, when Trump surveys wildfire damage in Los Angeles County.

The visit gives the president a chance to show that no matter who they voted for in November, he can rise above petty discrimination and name-calling during a disaster to provide aid to Americans in need.

The stakes are high for Newsom, who finds himself in a precarious position with his state in flames.

The governor can end the day with an example of a president who can set aside political and personal feelings and act like a level headed leader who can help his state. Or, Newsom will face criticism that his political athleticism and thirst for the national spotlight have compromised his ability to deliver for Californians.

“We're going to find out in this week's visit whether Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom will treat each other as president of the United States and governor of California, or two people with completely different ideologies who are constantly at odds,” Todd said. Kousser, professor of political science at UC San Diego.

Trump said over the weekend that he planned to visit Southern California on Friday, but did not release any details about his trip.

Whenever the president visits, Kauser said, a disaster provides an easy “political script” for both leaders to win.

History has shown that they have acted as politicians in times of crisis before, temporarily suspending their tactics on social media and in the courts.

During Trump's first term, the governor often praised Trump for taking his calls to support California, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and providing everything he asked for. Even today, Newsom insists that his relationship with Trump in the early days was as good as any other governor's.

At the same time, their battles on the environment, immigration and other areas where their liberal and right-wing politics clashed gave Newsom an opportunity to define herself to a national audience as a champion of democratic values. Newsom and California similarly gave Trump an opportunity to highlight the follies of the Democratic regime and present himself as a more sensible alternative.

Bob Challade, the governor's top communications adviser, said it was a more complex relationship than a “simple friend or foe” narrative.

“If the past happens again, as it often does, the governor and President Trump could easily have the same kind of relationship that they started six years ago,” Salleday said. “That means we'll protect California by fighting misinformation and, yes, fighting in court to protect our values ​​— working together on important issues like we did during the pandemic. You can do both.”

But the relationship between the two leaders also seems more complicated at the moment.

After the president lost his re-election bid in 2020, Newsom continued to run Against Trumpism in his successful bid to defeat the recall campaign Next year and Win re-election in 2022. The governor has traveled the country in support of former President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election cycle, while growing his list of supporters across the country.

Following the November election, Trump did not respond to attempts to congratulate Harris on defeating him, Newsom said.

Two days after the election, the governor Recreated the California vs. Trump story He announced a special session to increase funding for the state judiciary to fight the incoming administration in court. Trump responded by saying Newsom's “crazy policy decisions” were forcing people to leave his state.

Rob Stutzman, a Republican political consultant, said it was a miscalculation to lean into the “opposition” narrative so quickly after an election in which voters denounced progressive Democrats.

“He lined up on the quad thinking everybody was behind him and nobody was behind him,” Stutzman said. “There is no resistance to lead at this time.”

At a time when other mainstream Democrats seem to be backing away from the national culture wars, Newsom has been slow to relinquish his leadership role. He refused to follow the path of corporate leaders and bend the knee to Trump.

Newsom Tried to downplay his messageHe traded his offensive posture for a narrative about defending the state's values, while he talked about affordability in the weeks after the election. But the shift hasn't shielded him or his fellow California Democrats from criticism.

As fires in L.A. County and Los Angeles burn, giving the GOP a powerful opportunity to question their priorities, Democratic lawmakers are set to open special session hearings on Newsom's proposed legislative funding increase to fight Trump.

The bill was delayed despite initially insisting the special session was necessary to ensure lawmakers approved additional statutory money to fight Trump before he takes office this week.

Instead, Newsom He extended the special session Another bill should be added to provide $2.5 billion in wildfire recovery support to affected communities.

Controlling himself in every battle with Trump is a challenge at a time when the president is blaming him for the wildfires.

Trump has repeatedly blamed Newsom for the fire hydrants that dried up in the Palisades fire. Experts have refuted his claims about water shortages in Southern California, but that didn't stop the accusations repeated thousands of times.

Newsom launched a website as part of a campaign to correct misinformation about the fires shared by Trump and others. The site disputes Fox News' claims that it slashed the firefighting budget during the California governor's tenure and shot down allegations in social media posts that the state is mismanaging forest lands.

A familiar cast of California Republicans say the governor's attack on misinformation, which Newsom has discussed on national television, is making another attempt to recall him after more than half a dozen previous attempts have failed.

Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant who has “never had a Trump,” said Trump's claims and the deluge of misinformation that swept Elon Musk's X platform after the fire have made it difficult to disentangle the president from his first term.

Trump's infrastructure for sharing his message is stronger than Newsom's, especially when facts are drowned out on social media. Madrid said the announcement that Facebook would no longer censor or try to combat misinformation in posts would hurt Newsom.

“The reason it's so harmful and so destructive is that misinformation is coming in and attacking, not just by right-wing trolls on Twitter, but further reinforcing the narrative that California is not a functioning government,” Madrid said.

Newsom's political aides say the governor is setting an example for other Democrats about how best to push back against misinformation in Trump's second term. They disagreed with criticism of Trump's special session, arguing that he would have targeted California regardless.

Newsom, by his own account, has responded to both the popular and the entire claims about his administration. Little known Republicans. Although he has remained in Los Angeles since the fire, his efforts to suppress misinformation have left him open to confusion about his focus.

“Instead of making mass-produced clap-back videos with social media influencers, you should be working to help Californians,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Said in X. “You are the head of a state in crisis, and you should finally start acting like one.”

In his rebuttal, Newsom urged Johnson to “do the right thing” and help people in need instead of “playing partisan games.”

He filed a similar case His letter requested the President to visit the state and assessment of wildfire damage.

“In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human suffering or spread misinformation from the sidelines,” Newsom wrote. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans — displaced from their homes and fearing for the future — deserve to see all of us work in their best interests to help them recover and rebuild quickly.”

Trump did not respond to the letter or invite the governor to join him on a visit to Los Angeles.

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