Los Angeles is burning.
Fires have broken out in and around one of the nation’s largest metropolises — with no end in sight.
Natural disasters were once the great unifier, politically speaking. Politicians were urged to put aside, well, politics and focus on saving as many lives (and as much property) as possible.
No longer. Immediately after a natural disaster or, in this case, during one, the political posturing — and blame —begins.
Witness Wednesday.
Even as Los Angelenos were fleeing from the fires — and new ones were cropping up — President-elect Donald Trump slammed California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
And Trump was at it again on Thursday morning:
Newsom tried to deflect the attacks, insisting that now is not the time to play politics. “People are literally fleeing, people have lost their lives, kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burned down – this guy wanted to politicize it,” Newsom told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Bass, a former member of Congress who is now the mayor of Los Angeles, has fared less well.
She left for an official trip to Ghana on Saturday — even as weather forecasters were predicting that dry conditions coupled with rising winds could make conditions ripe for major fires. When Bass returned to LA on Wednesday, she was confronted by a Sky News reporter.
It was, um, awkward.
Here’s what we know: Like it or not, how politicians react during moments of crisis matters. It’s during natural disasters like this one in Los Angeles where people turn to the government — and, specifically, their elected officials — for help.
If those officials are seen to have helped — either with their previous policies or their current actions — it can accrue to their benefit. (Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did himself real good, politically speaking, during the state’s most recent hurricane, for example.)
If it looks like politicians are falling down on the job — Ted Cruz heading to Cancun during the power crisis in Texas in 2021 — the impressions left with voters can be lasting ones.
Watch how Newsom and Bass handle themselves over the next few days. It will matter — like it or not — to their political futures.
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