Karen Bass’ tweet from 2021 comes back to haunt her as LA residents demand accountability
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing heavy criticism for being in Ghana while her city was struggling devastating forest fires. Now, a 2021 tweet in which she criticized Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for going to Cancun, Mexico, with his family while his state was dealing with a severe winter storm.
Social media users were quick to accuse the mayor of being a hypocrite. While Bass left for Ghana before the wildfires broke out, she still faced condemnation for the trip and fierce criticism of her leadership.
FIRES IN CALIFORNIA ravaged LOS ANGELES COUNTY, KILLED 5 PEOPLE AND THREATENED THOUSANDS OF HOMES
Several social media users said the mayor’s tweet had not “aged well” and urged her to delete the nearly four-year-old post.
President-elect Trump took to Truth Social to blast the mayor, blaming the spread of the wildfires on the “gross incompetence” of Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour 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)
Numerous wildfires are raging across California, claiming five lives, and thousands are under evacuation orders. As of Thursday morning, more than 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been damaged or destroyed in the devastating fires.
A woman reacts as she evacuates after strong winds fueled devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on January 8, 2025. (David Swanson/Reuters)
After returning from Ghana, Bass is facing the journalist about her trip, but she remained silent. Bass also declined to say whether she “regretted” cutting the city’s fire department budget last year. However, during a news conference Wednesday, Bass said she took the “fastest route back, which included being on a military plane.” She also said she “could have been on the phone the entire flight.”
A firefighter works as the Palisades Fire burns a house on a hill next to Getty Villa on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, California. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Cruz flew to Mexico as Texans faced a deadly winter storm that left millions without power.
“Since school is canceled for the week, our girls asked to go on a field trip with their friends,” Cruz said at the time. “In an effort to be a good father, I flew out with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas. We want our power back, our the water is on and our homes are warm. My team and I will continue to use all of our resources to keep Texans informed and safe.”
Cruz later admitted the trip was a “mistake.”
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Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Tyler Olson and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
