Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher on Friday slammed Los Angeles and California officials for their response to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
“When you ask why there are so many fire hydrants, [Pacific] There is no water in the fence; [Democratic] governor [Gavin] “Local people are trying to figure it out,” Newsom said. Yes, you have to do it before there’s a fire,” Maher said on his show “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Newsom made that comment in a Jan. 8 newspaper. interview Conversation with CNN’s Anderson Cooper drew criticism many above socializing media. Saving California, a bipartisan coalition, petition He recalled Newsom after his comments, accusing the governor of pursuing “poor policies” and “failed pet projects” funded by taxpayers at a time of growing social ills.
“Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the nero of American politics, toyed with Ghana while the city was in the throes of a fire, but later took responsibility for it by saying, “We can ignore eight months that have not been seen in Los Angeles in at least 14 years. It was blamed on “some rain and wind”. Yes, it’s not that long. Let’s look in the history books to see how our ancestors coped in 2011,” Maher deadpanned, eliciting applause from the studio audience.
Basu traveled to Ghana on January 11 in preparation for President John Mahama’s inauguration on January 14, amid mounting warnings of an impending firestorm. Critics accused her of once again breaking her 2021 mayoral campaign promise not to travel abroad if elected.
Bass reportedly spoke with key agencies in Los Angeles while in Ghana, but returned to a city battling blazes fanned by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, which at times hampered aerial firefighting efforts. a video Her silence in the face of criticism from journalists over the clearly ill-timed trip has since spread online. a petition Because her recall has over 158,000 signatures at the time of publication. (Related: Los Angeles wildfires kill 25 people, Los Angeles County sheriff says Bass and Newsom should resign for ‘gross negligence’)
“Do I owe the public an apology for being absent while my house was on fire?” Do I regret cutting the fire department’s budget?
@skydavidblevins Questions Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass facing backlash over California wildfires.https://t.co/Nkz8onjC7V pic.twitter.com/WwRwp6Imqz— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 8, 2025
Twenty-seven people have died since four fires broke out in Los Angeles and Ventura counties around January 7th. Just over half of the Palisades fires are under control, according to formal update.
Democratic strategist Lisa Darden defended Bass on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live,” calling criticism of Bass’ travel by “right-wing MAGA monsters” “disingenuous and disgusting.” Darden said on the show that neither traveling to Ghana nor staying in California could have prevented the fires.
“If she had been a white guy traveling to Ghana during this time and something like this had happened afterwards, they would have thought, ‘Oh my god, he was great,’ and they would have cheered him on.” I know for a fact that he is deaf. “He was great. He came right back to America and called me. He was doing great,” Durden insisted.
Then host Dan Abrams suggested Darden was using the race card to make an excuse.
“America is so partisan today that no matter what kind of disaster happens, so many people choose to protect their team — even die,” Maher told the audience. Ta.
Maher also reported that about 300 fire hydrants have been stolen by thieves in other areas of Los Angeles. Thieves were stealing fire hydrants faster than they could be replaced between 2023 and May 2024, and the crime was getting worse, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported. reported. In addition, the 117 million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir has been out of service since February 2023 due to restoration work. According to In the Los Angeles Times. Newsom has reportedly ordered an investigation into the closure.
Maher, an Angeleno, criticized: axios report Officials and experts believe the city was unable to limit and extinguish the blaze because the city’s fire hydrants and water systems were not designed to handle fires of that size.
“I’m sure it’s very complicated, and that’s why I pay 13 percent of my income in this state every year to people who are supposed to be working on things like this,” Maher said, again deadpan. and gave a round of applause.
