trump visit:
President will meet fire victims this weekend.
WASHINGTON — President Trump will visit California on Saturday to meet with people who have suffered losses in the state’s wildfires, the White House said Thursday.
“The president will travel to California this Saturday to meet with individuals impacted by the wildfires,” White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in a statement. “We will keep you updated on details as they are available.”
The administration offered no additional information on where Trump would travel.
The announcement comes amid criticism of Trump’s initial response to the devastating fires in Butte County and Southern California. Although he has signed off on a disaster declaration that allows federal support to flow into the state, he has also made threats about withholding such aid. Trump has frequently maligned California and has used wildfires as a way to criticize the state’s environmental policies, though most experts say the two are not linked.
The trip will also be the president’s first to the state since he traveled here in March to highlight his efforts to build a wall at the southern border.
Trump was silent for two days as the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise in Butte County, killing at least 63 people and destroying 11,862 structures, and the Woolsey Fire erupted in Southern California. Three people have died and 500 structures have been lost in that blaze.
Then on Saturday, he outraged California officials and the state’s largest firefighters association with a tweet that expressed no condolences for the state or fire victims, but instead blamed “poor” forest management for such disasters.
Trump has since issued several tweets praising first responders and sympathizing with people who have lost their homes. On Monday, he approved a disaster declaration clearing the way for federal aid to victims and governments in Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Trump has visited the state only once as president, traveling to the San Diego area in March to view prototypes of his border wall. But he has visited disaster scenes in several other states, including hurricane damage in Texas, Florida and the Carolinas, leaving some lawmakers questioning why he hadn’t come to California to view either the damage from current fires or the devastation from earlier blazes near Redding and in the North Bay.
Some Bay Area lawmakers were unimpressed with Trump’s announcement of a visit.
“He’s doing his job for a change,” said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough.
Speier had asked in a tweet Tuesday, “@POTUS, you’ve been to Florida and you’ve been to Texas. Will you come to California to console the fire victims who are devastated by the worst fires in our state’s history?”
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, DConcord, also said the president’s response left much to be desired. He called the visit “many days late, and millions of dollars short.”
But other area lawmakers were pleased to see the White House take an interest in California. Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson of St. Helena, whose district is still recovering from last year’s Wine Country blazes, said he is thankful for any effort to help.
“California has been devastated by wildfires and we’re seeing it again with one that’s going to be the worst wildfire ever, and the loss of life is terrible,” Thompson said. “I’m just glad that the federal government is going to do everything they can to help out in the situation.”
In a statement, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said, “I welcome the president’s visit to see the extent of the damage from these ongoing wildfires, and look forward to working with his administration to ensure California receives all the federal support possible in the response and recovery.”
Residents were similarly split over the visit.
Noreen Jones, in her 60s, lost her home in the Butte County hamlet of Concow and is staying with her 31-year-old son in Chico.
“Is he going to throw some paper towels at us? That’s what he did over in Puerto Rico. He was throwing paper towels,” Jones said, recounting Trump’s visit to the island after it was hit by Hurricane Maria in 2017. “I have nothing to say to him at this time.”
Her son Aaron Colwell said he wanted to see the president hold Pacific Gas and Electric Co. accountable and address the private ownership of big power companies. Investigators are looking into whether a PG&E line sparked the Camp Fire.
But Paradise resident Jeff Honeycutt, 64, who also lost his home, said Trump’s visit to California was “hopeful.”
“There’s a lot of people these days trying to put him down and get him out,” Honeycutt said. “I appreciate what he’s doing for our country. He’s going to look at all the damage and he’s going to see how serious it is . ... Things happen better in the long run if the government is fully involved.” Tal Kopan reported from Washington and Sarah Ravani from Butte
County.