Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., appeared to be distracted when he was confronted by Los Angeles residents angry about his response to the wildfires, saying local leaders and people on his team had not given him a clear picture of the devastation.
In the interview on a liberal podcast, “Pod Save America,” released Saturday, the governor said he struggled to get “real answers” about how the wildfire response went wrong from lower-level leaders, suggesting that hindered his response .
“So I’m the governor of California and I want to know the answer. I have that question, I can’t tell you, from how many people, ‘What happened?’ — on his team, ‘What happened?’… I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t getting straight answers,” Newsom told co-host Jon Favreau, referring to his conversations with local leaders.
CALIFORNIA GOV GAVIN NEWSOM ORDERS INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION AFTER HYDRANTS DRY: ‘WE NEED ANSWERS’
Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., hit back at those angry about his response to the fire, saying local leaders are not giving him straight answers about the crisis. (Getty/AP)
Favreau mentioned that one of his “best friends” who lost his home in The Palisades said Newsom was “just trying to shift the blame” for the crisis. He added yes many residents are “so angry” about the state’s response to the devastating fire and asked him to respond as the man who is “ultimately responsible” for the state.
Newsom admitted he did not fully understand why the response was delayed and appeared to shift the blame to other leaders.
“My team started talking to local leaders, saying, ‘What’s going on?'” Newsom began.
“And you didn’t get direct answers from the local leaders?” Favreau interjected. “I was getting different answers,” Newsom confirmed, adding, “and so, for me, it’s not — when you start getting different answers, then I’m not getting the real story.”
CALIFORNIA FIRES: IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM
Newsom argued that Trump was contributing to the crisis by spreading “damaging” information about the state’s response to the wildfires. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Newsom added that he gave those leaders “a little grace,” as he understood they were “assessing” the “extraordinary environment.”
He noted that anger is flaring over the wildfire response because “nobody has patience anymore.”
The governor then pointed the finger at President-elect Donald Trump, who has argued with after Trump accused Newsom of mishandling the wildfire response.
On Wednesday, Trump criticized Newsom for not doing a “good job” during the crisis. He added: “It’s very sad because I’ve been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow the water to come in – you’d have a huge amount of water up there, they’re sending it from the Pacific – because they’re trying to protect a little fish for the sake of it, they don’t have water… It’s the governor’s fault, and it could say the administration.”
Newsom’s press office responded to the comments on X, stating, “LADWP said that due to high water demand, pump stations at lower elevations did not have enough tanks to fill under pressure at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire was hampering the ability of crews to access the pumps.”
It added: “Generally speaking, there is currently no water shortage in Southern California, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary port.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE MEDIA AND CULTURE REPORTING
During the podcast interview, Newsom again criticized Trump for the claims, saying the president was spreading misinformation.
“It’s words. It’s salad. It’s the form and content of the fog. It’s made up. It’s a fallacy and it’s been a consistent mantra from Trump going back years and years and years, and it’s been reinforced over and over and over within the right wing . “
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The governor added that Trump has managed to bring this alleged affinity for disinformation “to this crisis in a deeply humiliating and damaging way.”
Trump transition team spokesman Steven Cheung responded to Newsom’s accusations, telling Fox News Digital, “Instead of appearing on liberal podcasts, maybe Newscum [sic] should be doing his fucking job and actually helping the people who continue to suffer under his horrible leadership.”
