Last Friday, following weeks of wildfires in Southern California, Donald Trump visited California, met with Gavin Newsom, took a tour of fire damage, and engaged in a contentious public townhall with LA Mayor Karen Bass, wherein the president seemed to become something of a pinch-mayor.
But there was no rancor between Newsom and Trump.
In their tarmac presser, Trump thanked Newsom for meeting him as he landed in California, the two expressed solidarity over the fires in brief remarks, and following the trip – it appeared as though there might be a bit reprieve in Trump’s continual war with Newsom.
In an Air Force One gaggle after the trip, Trump said he “decided to be nice” and then followed up by telling reporters, “It was nice he came to the plane… and in the end, we have the same goal. We want to take that catastrophe and make it as good as possible. We disagree on some things….I actually always got along with him well until fairly recently.”
Here’s audio:
So far, so good, putting politics aside, right?
Well, kind of wrong.
Via Trump’s official White House X account, he posted this video today.
“The First Lady and I are in California to express our great love for the people of California. I'm going to give you everything you want. I'm going to be the President that's going to help you fix it.” –President Trump pic.twitter.com/RkkiY1xrmz
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 27, 2025
Now there are a few notable and very political things about it that hint where Trump is going on this.
First, Newsom’s absence in any of the shots is glaring, but predictable.
Second, notice how Trump includes town hall comments from folks who are repeating Trump’s favorite complaints against Newsom and praising Donald Trump.
In the video (ostensibly apolitical), a town hall participant says: “I just want to thank you for bringing sanity to California water and fire policy. There’s no place that needs a revolution in common sense quite like California.”
Another town hall participant says: “We should not have to rely on buckets to put out a fire.”
Another participant to Trump in the video: “You were talking about the need to better manage our forests and wildlands to prevent this from happening again, and you were so right about that.”
Another: “I wanted to thank you for your loyal support to our military, our police officers, and especially our firefighters.”
Watch the video yourself. The entire thing is an ode to Donald Trump, against the backdrop of tragic fires, with the politics of Trump’s beef against California’s wildfire issues, front-and-center.
Then Trump does something else.
Instead of suggesting that he might withhold aid from California unless conditions are met (as he floated prior to the visit), he went into savior of California mode.
“I’m going to give you everything you want. I’m going to give you more money than any president would have ever given you. Most presidents wouldn’t be here, number one. They certainly wouldn’t be here after three days. I’m going to come back, I’m going to come back as much as you need. But I’m going to be the president that’s going to help you fix it.”
Finally, note the optics of the salute from firefighters to (presumably) Trump as he says “I’m going to be the president that’s going to help you fix it.”
If you don’t think it’s a political ad at first watch, replay it again, and you’ll see Trump is doing something very smart.
He can’t engage in a back-and-forth fight with Newsom, at this point, without it looking petty.
But he certainly can try to supplant Newsom as the defacto governor of California, and try to swoop in and take credit for recovery.
And of course, with the vast federal backing he brings, he can do things Newsom simply can’t. And he probably will. And he’ll make sure all Californians know about it.
Of course, Newsom is no fool.
He gets exactly what Trump is trying to do here, and he knows that he’ll have to kiss the ring a bit to get what his state needs. That’s both the morally right thing for his constituents and the politically smart thing to do for his future.
Watch Newsom’s only tweet on X about Trump’s visit and contrast it with Trump’s. Newsom posts a deferential video towards the prez. Trump’s was a reverential video about himself.
Welcome to California, President @realDonaldTrump. Looking forward to working together to deliver aid and ensure a fast recovery for Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/doGCTJPSop
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 24, 2025
And all this is weighing on Newsom’s future calculations, as CNN’s Edward Isaac-Dovere writes in this great account wherein the Newsom team is very aware that, as an outgoing governor, his response to the fires will be the final memory voters have of him.
Some have praised how much he’s been carrying out the response in public through interviews with flames behind him. Others are infuriated by how many fire hydrants were without water and other mismanagement in the run-up to the catastrophe, saying he should be addressing that, or least showing more empathy for the losses and doing fewer of those TV interviews – especially with liberal hosts.
“He’s got to push back on the misinformation without doubling down on the conflict. And ultimately, he has to deliver for the people of California – and that’s what he’s going to be measured by,” one Newsom adviser told CNN. “There’s not a playbook for this.”
Watching what’s happening at home and trying to sort through the dynamics in Washington, several California politicians say that this back-and-forth is proving a microcosm for American politics in the second Trump era.
In the end, California residents just want help. That’s what matters far more than anything.
But once everything has settled, they’ll start thinking more about who gave them help, and Trump seems to be aiming for that moment.
During the 2024 race, Trump talked about putting New York in play, and while he didn’t win the state, he vastly outperformed expectations in just about every region of the state.
California is the biggest blue state of them all, and Trump always likes big.
Newsom is aware of all this. And now he’s got to be humble enough to get the money he needs for his constituents but also know that Trump is going to try to turn this against him.
P.S. Here’s video of Trump and Newsom on the Tarmac, via LiveNOW from Fox:
[Photo from Trump’s White House Video: As noted, look at one such telling moment from the Trump video].
