President-elect Donald Trump floated an idea Thursday that would help Los Angeles residents recover from the massive fire damage still inflicting thousands of people while also ensuring Republicans get an early Trump agenda win.
Americans watched in horror as Los Angeles neighborhoods were utterly demolished by the out-of-control fires that raged through California. After the initial shock wore off, the blame was clearly placed on the incompetent state and local leadership, which is entirely comprised of Democrats.
WOW: @JesseBWatters reveals a bombshell report on horrific failures by Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass, and the entire cartel of Democrat leaders in California
Their egregious incompetence has been deadly—now a total catastrophe.
Fire the Democrats already!pic.twitter.com/nOCHdw0804
— John Strand (@JohnStrandUSA) January 17, 2025
It’s not easy to miss the glaring examples of neglect, whether it was the DEI-focused fire department, slashed fire budgets, the mayor’s absence, or the water reservoir being left dry, the people of Los Angeles were left without help or hope when the inevitable happened. For the first time in a long time, California voters are looking at Democrats in disgust. This reality is causing Democrats to panic. They are already rushing to make it easier for California residents to rebuild their homes by waiving their cumbersome “climate change” construction mandates, suspending environmental reviews, and promising to expedite permits.
DEMOCRATS ARE GOING TO LOSE CALIFORNIA
This is the big one. Biden is likely making statements like “we’re going to contribute 100% aid” because they’re worried Newsom and Bass have lost them the state.@GrantCardone @SteveGruberShow pic.twitter.com/L4t4s7ApwF
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) January 13, 2025
But have no fear: Trump has a plan to ensure that help is on the way for LA and Americans as a whole, but it will take two opposing sides to come together — a little bipartisanship, if you will. (ROOKE: Johnson’s Bold Move To Oust GOP Deep Stater Is A Win For Trump Agenda)
New: Trump met all weekend with different House GOP factions at Mar-a-Lago, and among the talk about the SALT cap and reconciliation, an idea came up about tying a debt limit raise with California disaster aid.
House GOP Leaders view this revelation as a positive one as it…
— Reese Gorman (@reesejgorman) January 13, 2025
California leaves a sour taste in the mouth of most conservative voters. It’s the land where far-left ideologies were allowed to run rampant, making their current situation symbolize the consequence of their actions. Couple these feelings with the reality that the victims of Hurricane Helene have still not been made whole; it’s easy for many not to want to bail them out. Right or wrong, this is how many people unaffected by the fires see the situation. However, this bitter pill would be easier to swallow if giving financial aid to California means that the voter mandate handed down on Nov. 5 also gets its first step. (Democrats Are Winning The Battle For One Of GOP’s Most Important States)
Still, it’s not just fed-up conservatives that Trump has to contend with. Trump is fully aware that Democrats are looking at every avenue possible to slow down any of his agenda wins. Republicans have a slim majority in both chambers, so it’s not that he necessarily needs Democrats to vote for his policies in order to enact them, but it would sure make it easier. When Republican officials eventually do what they always do (let the American people down by voting against our mandate), having a wishlist item like the California aid is a good enough incentive for Democrats to vote in favor. The alternative would see them retreat to their blue states and have to explain why they don’t want to help their people out just to spite Trump.
President-elect Trump floated including federal aid to Los Angeles as part of a massive reconciliation package, suggesting that doing so would win over some Democratic votes.
“I’d like to see one bill. And because of Los Angeles, you’d think that’s a Democrat thing. They want…
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) January 16, 2025
And bringing these two sides to the table is exactly what Trump hopes to do. In a conversation with Dan Bongino on Thursday, Trump suggested that all federal fire aid for California should be conditional on passing the president-elect’s agenda in one large reconciliation bill.
“I’d like to see one bill. And because of Los Angeles, you’d think that’s a Democrat thing. They want that money going so fast. Because of Los Angeles, I think the concept of one big, beautiful bill has been helped greatly,” Trump said.
“If you add Los Angeles into it, then you can really do one big, beautiful bill because, frankly, they want that so badly,” he added. “They want the money to go out there so badly. And I don’t think we should do a bill until Los Angeles is included. And when Los Angeles is included, we get everything we want.”
Trump says he can exploit victims of the Los Angeles wildfires to pass his extreme agenda by holding funding hostage: “When Los Angeles is included, we get everything we want” pic.twitter.com/NgOOF5uipg
— FactPost (@factpostnews) January 16, 2025
The reconciliation bill would begin to tackle some of the biggest issues that drove voters to the polls in November, like border security, tax policy, and energy and manufacturing investments. Trump believes tagging these issues that won’t likely get Democrat support to aid “they want so badly” will create an opportunity to bank an early America First win. (ROOKE: Legacy Media Openly Forecasts Which Trump Nominees They’ll Try To Scalp As Hearings Begin)
Of course, Democrats will bloviate about how Trump is using this disaster for personal political gain. The narrative will be that he is selfish and callous.
— Annie (@AnnieForTruth) January 13, 2025
Still, they will have no other choice but to support the reconciliation package. Democrats have lost favor with a large swath of their base because of how the preparations and management of the fires were handled. They cannot politically afford to forgo aid that would help correct their incompetent leadership.
This is the best chance Republicans have to show how only the right’s policies can help California voters from the hole they’ve dug themselves into. Help them rebuild, show them how Trump’s agenda works for everyone, and lead with confidence. They won’t get a better opportunity than this.