Gov. Gavin Newsom is firing back President-elect Donald Trump for comments he made Wednesday about the response to the deadly wildfires currently ravaging Southern California.
Trump spoke to reporters after a meeting Wednesday on Capitol Hill and accused Newsom of not “[doing] good job,” but noted that they “worked well together” and will work again when he takes office later this month.
“It’s very sad because I was trying to get Gavin Newsom to let the water 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 the little fish,” Trump said. “Please, they don’t have water… It’s the fault of the governor, and one could say the administration as well.”
Newsom press office released a statement on social media after Trump’s remarks saying there was a reason the pumps weren’t being used.
PALISADA FIRE: HEIDI MONTAG, SPENCER PRATT LOSE HOME; CELEBRITIES ESCAPE THE RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD
California Governor Gavin Newsom and President-elect Trump have clashed over a variety of issues, including the California wildfires. (Getty/AP)
“LADWP said due to high water demand, pumping stations at lower elevations did not have enough pressure tanks to fill at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire was hampering crews’ ability to access the pumps,” Newsom’s press office wrote on X.
His office added that the city used water tenders, a common tactic in wildland firefighting.
Newsom’s office also dismissed claims that there is a water shortage.
MALIBU, CA – January 8: Firefighters continue to battle wind and fire as homes burn in Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway near Carbon Canyon Road in the Palisades Fire on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
“Generally speaking, there is currently no water shortage in Southern California, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary connection,” Newsom’s office said.
The office published a series of quotes from California officials saying that water reliability and water supply are stable.
One comment said there was enough water to supply 40 million people for a year.
Earlier in the afternoon, Trump accused Newsom of refusing to sign a declaration on restoring water supplies and criticized him for low fire suppression.
“Let this serve as a symbol of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum duo. January 20th can’t come soon enough!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) hit back at President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday after accusations that he mismanaged the California wildfires. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Newsom’s office said there is no such thing as a water restoration declaration.
They also noted that water supply and transport are not connected.
“Trump is conflating two completely unrelated things: the transfer of water to Southern California and the supply from local storage,” the post said. “And again, there is no such document as a water restoration declaration – it’s pure fiction.”
Still, Trump wasn’t done criticizing Newsom.
In a scathing late-night post on Truth Social, Trump said the wildfires were “all his fault!!!”
Trump also called on Newsom to resign.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning to the ground,” Trump wrote. “It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!”
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper earlier Wednesday, Newsom was asked generally about Trump blaming him for the wildfire disaster.
“One can’t even answer that. I mean … you know, people are literally running away. People have lost their lives. Children have lost their schools. Families completely destroyed. Churches burned,” Newsom told Cooper. “This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say – I won’t.”
Newsom went on to praise President Biden, saying he “didn’t play politics.”
Biden visited a Los Angeles fire station with Newsom on Wednesday to brief authorities on the raging wildfires.
The California wildfireswhich erupted on Tuesday afternoon, has already forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. Fires in the Los Angeles area threaten at least 28,000 structures. At least five people were killed.
Newsom declared a state of emergency Tuesday after the Palisades fire grew to unsustainable levels.
