Los Angeles mayor slams Trump over response to California fires

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) slammed President Trump on Sunday over his response to the wildfires blazing across California and his dismissal of climate change as their cause. 

Garcetti during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” praised cooperation from federal officials, but said the leadership “at the very top” needs to be stronger, and that Trump needs to focus on helping Americans in need, regardless of party, instead of basing decisions “on an electoral map.” 

He also hit Trump for blaming “blue states over red states,” noting that the “million Republicans in the city of Los Angeles” don’t change the mayor’s response to the blazing fires. 

“We need leadership that is equal across this country,” Garcetti said. 

“We need actual help, not based on our party affiliation or how we voted,” he added. 

Trump is scheduled to visit California on Monday. He approved a major disaster declaration for California in August, but the president has also claimed the fires are due to years of poor forest management in the state. 

Asked on Sunday about Trump’s claims on forest management, Garcetti said he listens to fire professionals, not the president or politicians, “[w]hen it comes to what causes fires.”

“Anybody who lives in California is insulted by that, quite frankly, and he keeps perpetuating the lie,” Garcetti added.