Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., criticized the media Friday for trying to create “negative narratives” about President-elect Donald Trump and other conservative leaders for their reactions to the Los Angeles wildfires.
DeSantis blasted the media in an interview on “Fox & Friends” for targeting Trump for his response to the fires and for his alleged shielding. Democratic lawmakers in Los Angeles and California during the disaster.
“I can say, ‘Don’t politicize this at all.’ But I think the media – it’s like calling the kettle black when they attack Donald Trump, when they’re the ones who are always in the lead in these cases,” DeSantis told host Lawrence Jones.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., questioned the media for politicizing the Los Angeles wildfires against President-elect Donald Trump. (Reuters/Cheney Orr)
DeSantis was asked about his viral confrontation with a reporter at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Thursday. In that exchange, the governor tore into the press at large for accusing Trump of politicizing the wildfires while saying nothing about the roles of Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democrat of California, and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the crisis.
While speaking on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Trump accused Newsom of not doing a “good job” of fire prevention in the state. In an article by Truth Social, the president-elect added: “Fire has been spreading rapidly for 3 days – ZERO CONTAINMENT. No one has ever seen numbers this bad before! Gross incompetence from Gavin Newscum and Karen Bass…And Biden’s FEMA has no money – all wasted on the Green New Scam! LA is a total failure!!!”
At the Mar-a-Lago press conference, a reporter asked DeSantis whether Trump’s shots at California leaders were appropriate. DeSantis countered: “Is it appropriate for people in your industry to try to create divisions and create narratives every time these things happen? »
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Altadena, CA – January 08: A firefighter works on the Eaton Fire on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“Now you’re not as interested in doing that because Newsom is a D. If Newsom was a Republican, you’d go try… you’d have him nailed to the wall for what they’re doing there,” he said. added.
The governor explained to Jones the reasons for his reprimand of the reporter the day before, pointing to his own experience with the press questioning him about natural disasters in Florida.
He said, “You know, they were trying to blame this thing on Donald Trump and they were coming after them. Donald Trump’s comments. And I’m just like, I’ve seen how these people in the press react when these things happen in the state of Florida. All they’re trying to do is find things they can create negative narratives about. »
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“I remember when we had Hurricane Ian – Monster Category 5 storm – hit southwest Florida. All they were looking for were negative things to do. And the reality was that the state was prepared. We had a massive response,” he continued.
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The governor also told Jones how Florida was supporting Californians suffering from the fires, saying, “Well, we immediately offered to help. The Florida Division of Emergency Management is therefore in contact with the California Emergency Management Agency. go down the pike, we will respond to these requests.
