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On Friday 24.01. President Donald Trump He is expected to arrive in Los Angeles to see for himself the devastation caused by the recent wildfires, even as new, threatening fires have broken out in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in Southern California.
But it’s not just about that fires that are out of control. It’s the same with the political posture of the California Democrats who seem more interested in “getting back at” our new president than putting the interests of Californians first by asking for his help.
Governor Gavin Newsom spoke up against Trump’s misinformation about the causes of the fire. As usual, when the left complains about misinformation, it’s really only the things that are true that they dislike. Newsom may not be comfortable with Trump calling attention to the incompetence and long-term policy failures that made this disaster so much more destructive than it needed to be. But Trump is right on every point.
CALIFORNIA FIRES: ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM
My political organization, Golden Together, just released a paper with practical ideas to help Los Angeles and our state after these fires. But Trump’s visit provides an immediate opportunity to make things happen right now.
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)
Why can’t California’s leftist politicians realize that Trump’s promise of a new “Golden Age” for America is also a golden opportunity for the Golden State? An opportunity to recover from these fires, rebuild faster and better and prevent something like this from ever happening again.
There has been a lot of talk about federal aid to California and whether there should be “tied ties.” Ultimately, that will be decided by Congress, and as California Rep. Kevin Kiley told me in a recent interview, given California’s terrible record of wasting federal money — for example, funds to help fight the fight against COVID — it’s vitally important. place safeguards on any funds they sent to California.
But perhaps even more important than the federal money is the expertise Trump could offer. Here are three things California Democrats could ask of him, if only they could get over their poor political point-scoring.
1. Build, baby, build!
We have a builder for president. Someone who has a lifelong professional understanding of how to build things quickly, economically and with high quality.
California should take advantage of this unique opportunity. Get Trump’s advice on how to get work done in Los Angeles. We’ve got the Super Bowl, the World Cup and the Olympics all coming to Los Angeles in the next few years. We can’t afford to waste time. We need to build, baby, build as well as drill, baby, drill!
Trump is above all a practical leader. He is not interested in ideology, but in results. He just wants to get things done. I’m sure he’ll have incredibly useful, concrete ideas about how to rebuild Los Angeles and who can help—listen to him!
2. Put people before fish
One of the most high-profile disputes between Newsom and Trump has erupted over water and California’s failure to supply adequate water to our cities and farmers. Trump is absolutely right about that. So-called journalists mocked Trump for talking about a “giant faucet” sending water to Southern California that Gavin Newsom was restricting to protect tiny fish. But that only reveals their own ignorance.
Most of California’s water supply is located in the north of the state, mostly from rivers and reservoirs fed by the melting snowpack of the Sierra Nevada. Most of the population lives in the south, where there are two main supply routes: the Delta-Mendota Canal, built and operated by the federal government, and the California Aqueduct, operated by the state. Each of them has a huge pumping station, near the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, which regulates the flow of water.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (right) tours the Pacific Palisades central business district as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
In his first administration, Trump ordered the federal pumping station to increase its water supply. Incredibly, California retaliated by reducing the supply from the state’s pumping station, to keep more water in the Delta. Why? They themselves admit that it was to protect the salmon and the three-inch shad, a species that is already extinct in 2020. just to revive by UC Davis biologists.
Trump issued a new executive order – Putting People Over Fish – to increase the federal water supply. California should welcome this instead of fighting like last time.
3. Great Danes California!
On both of these issues – water and rebuilding LA – there is a huge self-imposed obstacle: California’s mind-boggling, worst bureaucracy and red tape.
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In fact, this is what stands in the way of getting anything done in California these days: rebuilding Los Angeles, building the new water infrastructure we desperately need, building the new homes we need to solve our housing crisis. We have the highest housing costs in America, along with the lowest home ownership. We pay the most for water, electricity — everything. And a big part of the reason is the sprawling bureaucracy in Sacramento that has built up over decades of one-party rule by far-left Democrats.
One of the most high-profile disputes between Newsom and Trump has erupted over water and California’s failure to supply adequate water to our cities and farmers.
Their ‘climate’ extremism has become an excuse to slow down or block any project. Those who do manage to move forward are plagued by endless, ever-changing environmental regulations pushed by unaccountable state bureaucracies like CARB (California Air Resources Board) or the Coastal Commission. (These two, by the way, bear the lion’s share of responsibility for the devastation of the LA fires. Their rules have blocked vital brush-clearing work in the area.)
On top of environmental extremism, we have excessive labor regulations, imposed at the behest of the unions that fund California’s Democratic politicians. Extortionate labor costs and the forced use of union labor mean that many construction projects are destroyed because they are simply not sustainable. On top of that, taxes, fees, permits and mind-boggling red tape all combine to give California the worst business climate in America – 10 years in a row.
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Trump knows how to deal with it all. He tasked Elon Musk with getting rid of the federal bureaucracy: now let’s do the same in the state with the worst bureaucracy in America. Yes, it’s DOGE California time!
California desperately needs a dose of common sense and competence. President Trump can help do that — if only Gavin Newsom and his fellow California Democrats will listen.
