President Donald Trump landed in California to see the devastation caused by the wildfires that destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres in Los Angeles and are still ongoing.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom welcomed Trump on the tarmac when Air Force One landed in Los Angeles. The political leaders, despite having different confrontations and being from different sides, decided to adopt a cordial tone during an event with journalists at the airport.
Trump wants to "solve the problem" in Los Angeles.
Trump said he appreciated Newsom meeting with him and added, "We want to solve the problem." The president compared the devastation of the areas in Southern California ravaged by fire to the feeling that the city "was hit by a bomb."
Newsom thanked Trump for visiting his state: "We are going to need your support. You were there for us during the COVID-19 pandemic, I don't forget that. And I have every expectation that we can work together to achieve a swift recovery."
During a roundtable with legislators and officials after touring the most devastated neighborhoods, Trump referred to the wildfires as "hells of death and destruction."
National emergency due to forest fires
The president added that he will declare a national emergency to speed up responses and insisted on making changes to California's water policies.
However, he criticized former President Biden for the lack of response during the forest fires and reminded those present that he has only been president for a couple of days: “I will do a great job, but we had another president and this happened during the life of another president, not me. But I will be the president who will help you solve it, because he wouldn’t have been able to help you solve it.”