Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass angered residents who have been displaced by the devastating wildfires when, during a meeting with President Donald J. Trump, she suggested that they would be able to start rebuilding “right away” even though they have yet to be allowed to observe the damage up close.
On Friday, the president traveled to the West Coast to observe the area where thousands of homes burned down and meet with Democrat leaders who are under fire for their mismanagement before and after the historic blazes, especially Bass who went on a junket to Africa even though there were warnings that conditions were ripe for severe wildfires.
At one point in the televised briefing, the testy Bass bristled after Trump said that he’d heard that it would be 18 months before wildfire victims could begin rebuilding their homes.
BREAKING: LA Mayor Karen Bass and Trump with a very tense exchange now… Bass is losing her cool over insistence from community members and Trump who say that clearly, people aren’t being allowed back on their property soon enough.
TRUMP: People are willing to clean up… pic.twitter.com/k2w9KcB88l
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 25, 2025
“No, that will not be the case,” she shot back as the Democrat career politician claimed that those who lost their homes “really shouldn’t have to go through much of a process” once their lots have been cleared by local officials. A claim that was greeted with disbelief and dismay by several homeowners who were in attendance at the Pacific Palisades fire station where the meeting was held.
“So, I mean, we were told last night 18 months,” one resident told the embattled mayor. “So, if that’s not the answer, Mayor Bass, what is the answer? Because that’s what we were all told last night.”
She responded that the city and county are doing “everything we can – slashing regulations, expediting everything, so that people can begin the process right away.”
“You have to clear the lots. You guys are in charge!” shouted another resident at the mayor.
“We were told last night by the Army Corps of Engineers that it’d be 18 months. Is it not 18 months?” another resident asked Bass. “That’s the answer that we got and that’s what we’re all hanging on.”
He tried to explain that homeowners aren’t getting the clear answer that they need to make decisions including finding and renting temporary lodging.
“So if you’re telling us now faster, is it six months?” he asked.
Before Bass could come up with an answer, Trump spoke up, saying that six months “is no good.”
“We’re concerned right now over the weekend because of the potential rain, but we are going to move as fast as we can,” Bass insisted. “But we want you to be safe, and we want you to be back in your homes immediately.”
Trump then said that the beleaguered homeowners were ready to get to work clearing lots “tonight” and that the man asking Bass for a straight answer, “doesn’t want to wait around for seven months.”
Bass then claimed “if individuals want to clear out their property, they can.”
This prompted an incredulous response from one woman who demanded an answer, shouting, “We can’t even get in there without Trump!”
“We think within a week,” stammered Bass.
“We can’t even see our homes right now,” the woman shot back. “We are blocked from entering our street. We can’t even – the first time we saw our house was yesterday.”
The meeting – which was all live on television – was not a good look for the mayor who was thoroughly humiliated.
Los Angeles residents have been incensed by the incompetence of Bass and there have been calls for her to either resign or be recalled that will likely only grow louder now that Trump has shown what real leadership looks like.
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