LA Mayor Karen Bass and Democrats face criticisms over California wildfires

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing criticism from political opponents amidst the California city’s deadly wildfires that have left at least two people dead and many homes and businesses badly burned.

Bass, who was out of the country in Ghana at the start of the wildfire disaster, was on the ground Wednesday with local authorities and California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.

“The impact of these fires and winds are devastating,” Mayor Bass wrote on X, sharing that she spoke with President Joe Biden via phone to discuss “an urgent path forward towards recovery for the thousands of families impacted.”

But as Bass gets to work with city, state and federal officials to contain the wildfires and support thousands of residents, some critics are using the moment to point the finger.

Karen Bass’ former mayoral opponent, Rick Caruso, who she handily defeated in 2022, blamed the wildfires on “absolute mismanagement by the city,” adding, “Not the firefighters.”

“We have got a mayor that is out of the country, and we have got a city that is burning, and there is no resources to put out fires,” Caruso told Fox 11 Los Angeles. “It looks like we’re in a third-world country here.”

Caruso referred to Mayor Bass’s recent prescheduled trip with a U.S. delegation to Accra for Ghanaian President John Mahama’s inauguration on Tuesday. She was also taken to task for her office’s decision to slash at least $17 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s 2024-2025 budget in an effort to promote “responsible budgeting.”

“Fires in LA are sadly no surprise, yet the Mayor cut LA Fire Department’s budget … And reports of empty fire hydrants raise serious questions. Competence matters…” wrote LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong on X. The newspaper boss has recently moved to bring more conservative voices to his publication.

During his KBLA radio show, host and TV personality Tavis Smiley dismissed the criticisms lobbed against Mayor Karen Bass as “playing politics at the worst time.” He added, “It is sick. It is shameful.”

Smiley continued, “It is the American way to find somebody to blame; not that we’re not taking issues of climate seriously, not that we’re encroaching on nature.”

However, Karen Bass wasn’t the only California politician being blamed for the deadly wildfires. President-elect Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to accuse Gov. Newsom of being responsible for the state and city’s inability to contain the fires. Trump’s billionaire friend and incoming White House advisor Elon Musk joined in on the criticisms on X, which Musk owns. The incoming president claimed that Newsome, a Democratic governor, “refused” to sign a “water restoration declaration” that would’ve provided “millions” of gallons of water needed to combat the flames in Palisades.

“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving less water (it didn’t work), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid,” wrote Trump, who previously threatened to withhold federal disaster relief for political reasons.

In response to Trump’s Truth Social post, Gov. Newsom’s office called the criticisms “pure fiction.”

“There is no such document as the water restoration declaration … The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” said the governor’s press office.

Trump also sought to place the blame on President Joe Biden, who is just days away from leaving office. It was only last September when Trump threatened to withhold funding for wildfires if he were elected and Gov. Newsome didn’t conform to his preferred water policies.

“NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!” wrote the president-elect.

U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., who represents part of Los Angeles County, dismissed Trump’s rage posts, telling MSNBC, “My mother always said if you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, then just keep your mouth shut.”

The California congresswoman said the issue with Los Angeles’ water system is “not designed to fight fires.”

“We were not able to get water to these communities through air drops because of the wind,” said Kamlager-Dove. “So my focus is on containing the fires and getting the people power that we need to fight the fires, and then we can talk about rebuilding and assessing what’s next.”