Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California traveled to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to meet with his nemesis, President Donald Trump, in an effort to secure additional federal aid to support his state’s recovery from a series of brutal wildfires in January.
Newsom’s press office called the meeting “very productive” in its quest for “unconditional disaster aid for survivors.”
“Unconditional” aid is clearly Newsom’s office referring to Trump and his allies threatening—while the fires were still raging—to withhold federal aid unless congressional Democrats backed a measure to raise the limit of money the federal government can borrow.
Amid all of this, Trump has taken to calling the governor “Newscum,” in his trademark childish manner. But Newsom seems to be trying to bypass personal grievances to get what his state’s people need: federal aid.
The Eaton Fire burns vehicles and structures on Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, California.
“Thank you President Trump for coming to our communities to see this first hand, and meeting with me today to continue our joint efforts to support people impacted,” Newsom said in a statement after the meeting.
After meeting with Trump, Newsom visited Democratic and Republican lawmakers and members of his state’s congressional delegation.
The statement also thanked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin “for his agency’s swift action, including over 1,000 personnel on the ground focused on debris removal.”
January’s fires, which are now 100% contained, were some of the most destructive in state history.
“As we approach one month since the devastating wildfires across Southern California, we continue to cut red tape to speed up recovery and clean up efforts as well as ensure rebuilding efforts are swift,” said Newsom in the statement. “We’re working across the aisle, as we always have, to ensure survivors have the resources and support they need.”
This wasn’t the first time he put his state above the triviality of Trump’s games. His ability to make political beef irrelevant when necessary was evident in January, when, without an invitation from Trump, he surprised the president with a face-to-face meeting before Trump toured the devastation.
President Donald Trump
As the Democratic governor of the nation’s most populous state—and one of its bluest—Newsom has been unafraid to beat Trump at his own game. He has trolled Trump’s toxic immigration politics and called a special legislative session after Trump’s election in November. Newsom has also called out Trump’s inclination to play politics with disaster aid.
Meanwhile, Trump was fixated on a false conspiracy theory that the military, on his order, went to California and “TURNED ON THE WATER,” with the state water department corrected, explaining, “The military did not enter California. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”
Once Newsom secures the aid that his state needs, eyes will be on him to see how his tone changes in the lead-up to the 2028 presidential election, for which many odds-makers consider him the Democratic front-runner.
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English (US) ·