President Trump repeated falsehoods about California’s firefighting efforts on Friday and blamed Democratic officials for a wide variety of issues affecting the response to wildfires as he toured areas of Los Angeles damaged by the disaster.
In a meeting with state leaders in Pacific Palisades, a community that was heavily damaged by fire, Mr. Trump opened his remarks in a local firehouse with praise of the firefighters he met during the tour. Your fire department was so beautiful” and “in perfect physical shape,” he said.
The commendations quickly turned to attacks against state officials. Mr. Trump blamed the local bureaucracy, Democratic politicians, and a small species of protected fish known as the delta smelt for water supply issues that made it harder for firefighters to get the blazes under control. Water experts in California have said that many of those claims are wrong, and that problems fighting fires, which have raged for weeks, had other causes.
“They talk about the delta smelt, which is a fish that’s this big,” Mr. Trump said at the meeting with state officials, showing a space between his thumb and index finger. “It really doesn’t have to be protected because it’s in other areas,” he said. “The people of California have to be protected.”
Mr. Trump sparred with Democratic officials throughout the meeting, to raucous applause from local Republicans in attendance. He accused Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles and other local officials of slowing down the rebuilding effort with permitting issues and other red tape.
At one point, Ms. Bass said that reconstruction could not begin immediately because more cleanup was necessary in some areas, as was removing hazardous waste.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
