Los Angeles wildfires death toll rises as Gavin Newsom invites Trump to California

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Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., appeared to deflect when he was confronted about Los Angeles residents being angry over his wildfire response, saying local leaders and people on his own team weren’t giving him a clear picture of the devastation.

In an interview with liberal podcast, “Pod Save America,” released on Saturday, the governor said he has struggled to get “straight answers” about went wrong with the wildfire response from lower-level leaders, suggesting that it has hampered his response.

“So, I’m the governor of California and wanna know the answer. I’ve got that question, I can’t tell you, by how many people, ‘What happened?’ – on my own team, ‘What happened?’… I’ll be candid with you, I wasn’t getting straight answers,” Newsom told co-host Jon Favreau, referencing his conversations with local leaders.

Favreau mentioned how one of his “best friends” who lost his home in The Palisades suggested that Newsom is “just trying to pass the blame” for the crisis. He added that many residents are “so angry” about the state’s response to the devastating blaze and asked him to respond as the man who is “ultimately responsible” for the state.

Newsom admitted he wasn’t fully clued in to why the response was lagging and appeared to pass the buck to other leaders.

“We had my team start talking to local leaders, saying, ‘What’s going on?’” Newsom began.

“And you weren’t getting straight answers from the local leaders?” Favreau cut in. “I was getting different answers,” Newsom affirmed, adding, “and so, for me, that’s not a – when you start getting different answers, then I’m not getting the actual story.”

Newsom added that he has been giving these leaders “a little bit of grace,” as he understands they’re “assessing” the “emergency environment.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Gabriel Hays