Tensions escalate between Trump and Newsom regarding wildfire management response
The California governor recounted a previous “threatening” encounter while attempting to negotiate disaster aid with Trump during his inaugural presidential term.
TroibNews 
SACRAMENTO, California — The relationship between Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom has been consistently strained.
However, the recent fires ravaging Los Angeles—a natural disaster that historically has sometimes encouraged collaboration among political adversaries—have intensified the ongoing conflict between the incoming president and California's ambitious Democrat.
Anticipating that Trump might reiterate his previous demands for policy concessions in exchange for federal disaster relief, Newsom swiftly secured a disaster declaration from President Joe Biden while in Los Angeles this week. This expedited process typically spans several weeks.
Biden subsequently committed federal resources to cover all fire management and debris removal expenses for the next six months.
There is little doubt that Trump and Newsom are on a collision course regarding numerous issues, from the environment to immigration, in the largest and one of the most liberal states in the country. Already, Newsom and his fellow Democrats are preparing to allocate tens of millions of dollars for legal confrontations with Trump’s administration. Nonetheless, the fires and the sheer scale of destruction they have caused reveal significant policy implications that impact millions of Californians and their access to essential services such as housing, water, and electricity.
“I don’t think we’ve wrapped our minds around the scale of it. It’s going to be tremendously expensive,” said Kevin Carroll, who served as senior counsel to former Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly during Trump’s first term. “I would not be surprised if Trump demands concessions for distributing disaster aid as if they were citizens of a foreign country and not Americans.”
“Newsom has to do whatever is best for the citizens of California,” Carroll added. “Flattery often works with Trump. It’s a tough position he’s in.”
Although Trump and Newsom have yet to speak directly, Newsom indicated he reached out after the election. Aides from both sides confirmed they haven't communicated since the fires erupted on Tuesday, but Newsom has suggested further outreach is forthcoming. His public requests for Trump to "play any politics" during a crisis have largely gone unheeded, as the incoming president uses incendiary rhetoric to criticize the governor's performance and depict California as a failing state.
“The president has made himself quite clear on the way he views Gavin Newsom and his abysmal job record as governor of California,” said a Trump official, who was given anonymity to discuss the matter candidly. The official added that Trump “loves California — he owns property there.”
Despite his attacks on Newsom—whom he often referred to as “Newscum” during the 2024 race—the official stated that they expect Trump to collaborate with Newsom on federal fire response efforts after the inauguration.
Meanwhile, Newsom has largely shifted his focus away from Trump while coordinating fire responses with local and federal officials on the ground. Although he has built a national reputation for strongly opposing Trump and Republicans, Newsom's advisors emphasized that he intends to avoid reacting to every provocative statement from Trump.
“Our plan right now is, ‘Let’s react to what he does and not what he says,’” said a Newsom advisor. “Lives are on the line.”
Newsom's approach, which he describes as an open hand rather than a closed fist, reflects the two years he spent in office alongside Trump. He made a notable distinction on Tuesday, crediting Biden for promptly approving federal grants for fire management, contrasting with his previous dealings with Trump.
During their overlapping terms, the two often clashed. Newsom occasionally worried that Trump was gaining the upper hand by proposing radical ideas that stirred up Democratic outrage, dominating discussions before swiftly pivoting to other topics. Those close to Newsom characterize him as a front-line commander in the broader culture war, asserting that Trump and his supporters believe California must fail for them to succeed.
“Trump will say he hasn’t done anything. He’s trying to create this narrative of incompetence and it’s completely false,” the Newsom advisor said. “Trump is the one trying to use a human tragedy to score political points and spread disinformation. It’s the same chaos that we saw in the first administration.”
There have been moments of agreement, such as when Newsom complimented Trump’s aid during the pandemic or indicated they had cooperated adequately during the state’s 2020 fires, despite their public quarrels. Both leaders have occasionally expressed a level of mutual fascination.
“I was there in Paradise when Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown actually all met together and really worked cooperatively in the aftermath of the Camp fire,” remarked Republican state Assemblymember James Gallagher, the minority leader who represents the northern Sacramento Valley. “And I really think that’s probably the place we need to get back to.”
Gallagher anticipates that Trump and Newsom will discover a way to collaborate this time, despite the charged rhetoric surrounding the Los Angeles fires.
“Behind closed doors, these guys seem to be able to find ways to cooperate, even if they don’t do so publicly,” he remarked.
Trump's demands of Newsom echo the same requests he made in 2019 and 2020 and have resurfaced frequently during both the 2024 campaign and the aftermath of the fires. He insists that the governor “open up the water main” to ensure “beautiful, clean, freshwater to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!” as Trump recently stated online.
Trump's rhetoric simplifies a complex issue, and his connection of water delivery disputes to emergencies in Los Angeles misses the mark. Fundamentally, he and Newsom disagree about how much water should be diverted from California’s primary rivers—the Sacramento and San Joaquin—toward the drier regions of the Central Valley and Southern California versus what should be preserved for ecosystems supporting declining fish populations, like the Delta smelt, frequently targeted by Trump.
As reported, their separate proposals concerning the pumps yield only minor differences in actual water delivery. Recently, California reservoirs have had ample water resources, yet the ongoing debate continues to garner political attention.
“The delta water issues have absolutely nothing to do with the fires in LA,” said Karen Skelton, a California Democratic strategist and former senior Biden Energy Department official. “Spending even 10 seconds answering [Trump’s] inane comments would be political malpractice and this governor has much more serious things to worry about.”
That said, the exchanges of insults are likely to persist.
Labeling Newsom a “slimy politician,” the Trump official asserted that the former president “was there for California when he needed to be,” referencing Trump's 2020 memorandum which allowed the federal government to transfer additional water from Northern California to other parts of the state. Newsom, however, challenged that action in court, claiming it jeopardized endangered fish species.
Trump has also consistently criticized California’s forest management practices, reigniting these attacks during wildfires in 2018, 2019, and 2020, prompting Newsom officials to emphasize the over 700,000 acres the state has rendered fire-resistant.
Until recently, Newsom had largely kept his past interactions with Trump private. However, last fall, following a report from PMG’s E&E News that highlighted Trump's partisan approach to disaster relief, Newsom recounted what he described as a surreal experience with the former president.
He noted that Trump was preoccupied with the topic of disaster assistance, to the extent that he was “threatening to withhold the money, unless I do his bidding on the Endangered Species Act and break the law and decide to go and find some big wrench so I can open the spigot [and] flood everything, and there’ll be more peaches and pears for everyone.”
“He was very threatening,” Newsom said. “He was telling me right before the [2020] election, ‘You better work with me now, because I’m going to get reelected and you’re going down on this.’”
Trump is likely to soon consult with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum regarding federal decisions related to the fire. Burgum, the nominee for Interior Secretary, has been active on Capitol Hill this week as he prepares for his confirmation hearings.
Burgum and Newsom have previously collaborated through the Western Governors Association, and the two were seen sharing a cordial handshake in front of reporters in September, prior to the Philadelphia debate between Trump and Kamala Harris.
The Trump official remarked that the president-elect “has always expressed a willingness to work with anybody, especially when it’s in the interest of the American people.”
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
However, the recent fires ravaging Los Angeles—a natural disaster that historically has sometimes encouraged collaboration among political adversaries—have intensified the ongoing conflict between the incoming president and California's ambitious Democrat.
Anticipating that Trump might reiterate his previous demands for policy concessions in exchange for federal disaster relief, Newsom swiftly secured a disaster declaration from President Joe Biden while in Los Angeles this week. This expedited process typically spans several weeks.
Biden subsequently committed federal resources to cover all fire management and debris removal expenses for the next six months.
There is little doubt that Trump and Newsom are on a collision course regarding numerous issues, from the environment to immigration, in the largest and one of the most liberal states in the country. Already, Newsom and his fellow Democrats are preparing to allocate tens of millions of dollars for legal confrontations with Trump’s administration. Nonetheless, the fires and the sheer scale of destruction they have caused reveal significant policy implications that impact millions of Californians and their access to essential services such as housing, water, and electricity.
“I don’t think we’ve wrapped our minds around the scale of it. It’s going to be tremendously expensive,” said Kevin Carroll, who served as senior counsel to former Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly during Trump’s first term. “I would not be surprised if Trump demands concessions for distributing disaster aid as if they were citizens of a foreign country and not Americans.”
“Newsom has to do whatever is best for the citizens of California,” Carroll added. “Flattery often works with Trump. It’s a tough position he’s in.”
Although Trump and Newsom have yet to speak directly, Newsom indicated he reached out after the election. Aides from both sides confirmed they haven't communicated since the fires erupted on Tuesday, but Newsom has suggested further outreach is forthcoming. His public requests for Trump to "play any politics" during a crisis have largely gone unheeded, as the incoming president uses incendiary rhetoric to criticize the governor's performance and depict California as a failing state.
“The president has made himself quite clear on the way he views Gavin Newsom and his abysmal job record as governor of California,” said a Trump official, who was given anonymity to discuss the matter candidly. The official added that Trump “loves California — he owns property there.”
Despite his attacks on Newsom—whom he often referred to as “Newscum” during the 2024 race—the official stated that they expect Trump to collaborate with Newsom on federal fire response efforts after the inauguration.
Meanwhile, Newsom has largely shifted his focus away from Trump while coordinating fire responses with local and federal officials on the ground. Although he has built a national reputation for strongly opposing Trump and Republicans, Newsom's advisors emphasized that he intends to avoid reacting to every provocative statement from Trump.
“Our plan right now is, ‘Let’s react to what he does and not what he says,’” said a Newsom advisor. “Lives are on the line.”
Newsom's approach, which he describes as an open hand rather than a closed fist, reflects the two years he spent in office alongside Trump. He made a notable distinction on Tuesday, crediting Biden for promptly approving federal grants for fire management, contrasting with his previous dealings with Trump.
During their overlapping terms, the two often clashed. Newsom occasionally worried that Trump was gaining the upper hand by proposing radical ideas that stirred up Democratic outrage, dominating discussions before swiftly pivoting to other topics. Those close to Newsom characterize him as a front-line commander in the broader culture war, asserting that Trump and his supporters believe California must fail for them to succeed.
“Trump will say he hasn’t done anything. He’s trying to create this narrative of incompetence and it’s completely false,” the Newsom advisor said. “Trump is the one trying to use a human tragedy to score political points and spread disinformation. It’s the same chaos that we saw in the first administration.”
There have been moments of agreement, such as when Newsom complimented Trump’s aid during the pandemic or indicated they had cooperated adequately during the state’s 2020 fires, despite their public quarrels. Both leaders have occasionally expressed a level of mutual fascination.
“I was there in Paradise when Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown actually all met together and really worked cooperatively in the aftermath of the Camp fire,” remarked Republican state Assemblymember James Gallagher, the minority leader who represents the northern Sacramento Valley. “And I really think that’s probably the place we need to get back to.”
Gallagher anticipates that Trump and Newsom will discover a way to collaborate this time, despite the charged rhetoric surrounding the Los Angeles fires.
“Behind closed doors, these guys seem to be able to find ways to cooperate, even if they don’t do so publicly,” he remarked.
Trump's demands of Newsom echo the same requests he made in 2019 and 2020 and have resurfaced frequently during both the 2024 campaign and the aftermath of the fires. He insists that the governor “open up the water main” to ensure “beautiful, clean, freshwater to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!” as Trump recently stated online.
Trump's rhetoric simplifies a complex issue, and his connection of water delivery disputes to emergencies in Los Angeles misses the mark. Fundamentally, he and Newsom disagree about how much water should be diverted from California’s primary rivers—the Sacramento and San Joaquin—toward the drier regions of the Central Valley and Southern California versus what should be preserved for ecosystems supporting declining fish populations, like the Delta smelt, frequently targeted by Trump.
As reported, their separate proposals concerning the pumps yield only minor differences in actual water delivery. Recently, California reservoirs have had ample water resources, yet the ongoing debate continues to garner political attention.
“The delta water issues have absolutely nothing to do with the fires in LA,” said Karen Skelton, a California Democratic strategist and former senior Biden Energy Department official. “Spending even 10 seconds answering [Trump’s] inane comments would be political malpractice and this governor has much more serious things to worry about.”
That said, the exchanges of insults are likely to persist.
Labeling Newsom a “slimy politician,” the Trump official asserted that the former president “was there for California when he needed to be,” referencing Trump's 2020 memorandum which allowed the federal government to transfer additional water from Northern California to other parts of the state. Newsom, however, challenged that action in court, claiming it jeopardized endangered fish species.
Trump has also consistently criticized California’s forest management practices, reigniting these attacks during wildfires in 2018, 2019, and 2020, prompting Newsom officials to emphasize the over 700,000 acres the state has rendered fire-resistant.
Until recently, Newsom had largely kept his past interactions with Trump private. However, last fall, following a report from PMG’s E&E News that highlighted Trump's partisan approach to disaster relief, Newsom recounted what he described as a surreal experience with the former president.
He noted that Trump was preoccupied with the topic of disaster assistance, to the extent that he was “threatening to withhold the money, unless I do his bidding on the Endangered Species Act and break the law and decide to go and find some big wrench so I can open the spigot [and] flood everything, and there’ll be more peaches and pears for everyone.”
“He was very threatening,” Newsom said. “He was telling me right before the [2020] election, ‘You better work with me now, because I’m going to get reelected and you’re going down on this.’”
Trump is likely to soon consult with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum regarding federal decisions related to the fire. Burgum, the nominee for Interior Secretary, has been active on Capitol Hill this week as he prepares for his confirmation hearings.
Burgum and Newsom have previously collaborated through the Western Governors Association, and the two were seen sharing a cordial handshake in front of reporters in September, prior to the Philadelphia debate between Trump and Kamala Harris.
The Trump official remarked that the president-elect “has always expressed a willingness to work with anybody, especially when it’s in the interest of the American people.”
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
