Trump blasts 'incompetent pols' in California for 'one of the worst catastrophes' in US history

President-elect Donald Trump blasted California and Los Angeles officials for their handling of the wildfires that have been raging for nearly a week. 

“The fires are still raging in L.A.,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Sunday morning. “The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place.”

He said that this is turning out to be “one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country.”

“They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?” he continued, according to The Hill. 

Last week Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California.” 

“NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!” Trump posted later that day.

Newsom pushed back on X regarding Trump’s claim about the water restoration declaration. 

Newsweek, among others, fact-checked the claim about the water restoration declaration and concluded, "The notion that Newsom therefore turned down a 'declaration,' referring to federal action that Trump introduced anyway, is not accurate. However, it is clear that the governor has opposed Trump's actions on water policy, drawing a sharp response from Trump in turn."

The death toll has climbed to 16 as of Saturday evening. LA County has declared a local health emergency as over  40,000 acres have burned, according to Cal Fire.

While this is clearly a combination of natural and environmental phenomenon, arson, and government failure and mismanagement, this catastrophe will be analyzed and characterized for decades to come, often through a political lens as the region and the country come to grips with the realities and implications on the ground.