U.S. President Donald Trump said the federal government is standing behind California 100% in the aftermath of devastating wildfires and said during a visit to the state on Friday that he would come back as much as needed.
"The first lady and I are in California to express a great love for the people of California," Trump told a gathering of local leaders at a fire station in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
The neighborhood was one of the worst hit by the recent fires, with rows of homes left in ashes. Trump participated in a walking tour of the area earlier in the day and also surveyed recovery efforts from a helicopter as firefighters in the Los Angeles area continued to confront multiple blazes amid high winds and dry conditions.
"I don’t think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is, until you see it," Trump said after the tour.
The Palisades Fire is about 77% contained and has burned through nearly 9,500 hectares of land, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Trump has criticized California leaders for water policies that he says have exacerbated the recent wildfires. He said before traveling to California that he would "take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow, but they didn’t let the water flow."
California Governor Gavin Newsom has rejected the president’s assertion, and state legislators have said the fierce wildfires placed extreme demand on a municipal system not designed to battle such blazes.
Newsom greeted Trump as he arrived on the tarmac in Los Angeles on Friday. The two were cordial and shook hands.
"I have all the expectations we’re going to be able to work together," Newsom said.
Trump responded: "We’re going to get it fixed."
During the gathering with community leaders, Trump said that Los Angeles residents who lost homes should be allowed back onto their properties immediately, challenging Mayor Karen Bass to speed up the cleanup process.
"People are willing to get a dumpster and do it themselves and clean it up. There is not that much left, it is all incinerated," Trump said.
Bass said, "The most important thing is for people to be safe" but promised residents should be able to return home within the week.
Trump promised that federal permits to rebuild would be granted promptly and urged local officials to do the same.
Before visiting California, Trump first visited North Carolina, where he was briefed on monthslong recovery efforts of the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Speaking to reporters at Asheville Regional Airport, Trump said FEMA "has been a very big disappointment" and said he is considering "getting rid" of the agency.
FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been responding to disasters in California and North Carolina.
"It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow," Trump said of the agency.
Trump continued to express dissatisfaction with FEMA while in California, calling it a "big disappointment."
Trump, a Republican, has broached using federal disaster assistance as a bargaining chip during unrelated legislative negotiations over government borrowing, or as leverage to push California to alter its water policies.
"Playing politics with people’s livelihoods is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the southern California wildfire victims and to our brave first responders," Representative Young Kim, a Republican from Orange County, south of Los Angeles, said in a recent statement.
Trump has also suggested putting more responsibility on individual states to respond to disasters.
"I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems," he said in a Wednesday interview with Fox News. "FEMA is getting in the way of everything."
Michael A. Coen Jr., who served as chief of staff at FEMA during the Biden administration, said Trump has been "misinformed" about the agency, and he took exception to what he characterized as Trump’s inclination to play politics with disaster relief.
Ahead of Trump’s visit to Southern California, firefighters continued to fight multiple fires in the Los Angeles region.
The second-largest fire, known as the Eaton Fire, is now 95% contained after burning through more than 5,600 hectares of land, according to Cal Fire.
The Hughes Fire in the mountains northwest of Los Angeles near Castaic Lake started Wednesday, prompting evacuation orders for more than 50,000 people. Health advisories for smoke and windblown dust and ash have been issued for surrounding areas.
