Newsom plans to crash Trump’s LA wildfire visit

SACRAMENTO, California — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he had yet to hear from Donald Trump on the eve of the president’s planned tour of wildfire damage in Los Angeles on Friday.

Whether he’s invited or not, Newsom confirmed he’s planning to show up at the airport for a customary greeting.

“I look forward to being there on the tarmac to thank the president, welcome him, and we’re making sure that all the resources he needs for a successful briefing are provided to him,” Newsom told reporters Thursday in Pasadena, where he signed a pair of bills providing $2.5 billion in state recovery. “There's no limit to the resources we'll provide for that briefing.”

Trump, who has frequently sparred with Newsom, is set to return to California amid a congressional standoff over conditioning federal disaster aid to the Democrat-run state. Republicans are pushing to tie the aid to a debt ceiling increase, and Trump has called on Newsom to acquiesce to his demands over water delivery and forest management.

Newsom and Trump have not spoken since the president left office in 2020, and Trump has not returned the Democratic governor’s recent calls. But with Trump set to arrive Friday afternoon, Newsom sought to downplay their personal beef.

I have “a lot of relationships in the Trump world; a lot of relationships of trust. I communicate with a lot of folks around him, folks that have his ear and influence,” he said, without naming names. “This is a sideshow, a lot of this stuff, but I know it's the show that's probably the focus of a little bit too much tomorrow, when all I care about is what we can do together to move past this moment and and start rowing in the same direction to get this region back on its feet.”

Newsom’s remarks Thursday reflected the high-wire act he’s been performing since the fires erupted across Los Angeles earlier this month, claiming at least 28 lives and destroying thousands of structures. He again defended the state setting aside tens of millions of dollars to wage legal battles with the new administration, calling the special session outlays prudent. He repeatedly called out Trump for spreading false information on the fires, speaking extensively about his state’s investments in wildfire preparedness. At the same time, Newsom sought to appeal to him for federal recovery funding.

While urging Trump to set aside their own differences and come through for the state, Newsom pointed to one possible area for collaboration: the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“There's no daylight with the administration on that,” he said. “And I think in so many ways, it only reinforces my confidence that the president and Congress will be there for the American people that happen to live here in Southern California,” he said.

Trump said earlier this week on Fox News that he hadn’t given much thought to meeting with Newsom in Los Angeles. A White House spokesperson did not comment on the trip.