Vice President-elect JD Vance slammed false claims from some that President-elect Donald Trump may try to withhold federal aid from California as it seeks to rebuild after the wildfires.
During an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” anchor Shannon Bream asked Vance about what Trump said at a press conference in Los Angeles in September 2024, saying he would stop giving California government aid unless the money was better spent.
“We won’t give him money to put out all his fires,” Trump said in September 2024. “And if we don’t give him the money to put out his fires, he’s got problems.”
When asked if the idea of not giving Californians help was being thought about, Vance said it wasn’t and emphatically explained that Trump is committed to making the federal government better at handling crises.
“No, look, President Trump cares about all Americans, right? He is the president for all Americans. And I think that he intends to have FEMA and other federal responses much, much better and much more clued into what’s going on there on the ground,” Vance said.
Asked about California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s invitation for Trump to visit his state, Vance said, “I know the president would love to visit California” and that “our hearts go out” to those affected by the natural disasters.
“Whatever your political affiliation, it’s hard not to see those images and just be heartbroken for our fellow Americans who are going through a very tough time,” Vance said.
“And I do think, frankly, the federal government has to do a better job. President Trump is committed to doing a better job when it comes to disaster relief. That’s true for the hurricane victims and flood victims in North Carolina. It’s true for the fire victims in California. We just — we have to do a better job. We need competent, good governance,” Vance added.
Vance added that Trump still can criticize Newsom “for, I think, some very bad decisions over a very long period of time.”
“There is a serious lack of competent governance in California, and I think it’s part of the reason why these fires have gotten so bad. We need to do a better job at both the state and federal level,” Vance declared.
“Some of these reservoirs have been dry for 15, 20 years. The fire hydrants are being reported as going dry while the firefighters are trying to put out the fires. There was a serious lack of competent governance in California,” he added.
The Democratic California speaker of the House was pressed by local and national media figures late last week after he gaveled the chamber into a special session that set aside millions of dollars for a legal fund aimed at fighting the incoming Trump administration.
The state Senate had also gaveled into session for the same purpose — to “Trump-proof” the state, according to Zavala.
Following President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral win, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom declared a special legislative session aimed at strengthening the state’s legal fund in anticipation of possible challenges from the Trump administration.
Trump hit back at Newsom after the announcement, saying on his Truth Social account, “He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election.”
