Biden uses a Cal wildfire briefing to announce he’s a great-grandfather; Trump on Cal wildfire

As devastating wildfires tore through the Los Angeles area in January 2025, the emergency response drew immediate scrutiny of political leaders at every level. President Biden used what was supposed to be a wildfire briefing to announce that he had become a great-grandfather, LA Mayor Karen Bass was absent from the city entirely due to a trip to Ghana, and Governor Newsom faced pointed questions from reporters. Meanwhile, footage resurfaced of President-elect Trump warning about exactly this scenario during a campaign appearance in LA County just four months earlier and during his Joe Rogan podcast interview, where he had called for better forest management and water infrastructure in California.

Biden Announces Great-Grandchild During Wildfire Briefing

As catastrophic wildfires raged across Los Angeles County, President Biden appeared on camera during what was presented as a wildfire emergency briefing. However, rather than focusing exclusively on the disaster response, Biden used the appearance to make a personal announcement.

“The good news is, I’m a great-grandfather,” Biden announced during the briefing, sharing the news that a new baby had arrived in his family. He added with visible pride that he would “be in the house for a while.”

The timing drew sharp criticism from observers who viewed the personal aside as tone-deaf given the scale of the disaster unfolding in Southern California. Thousands of residents were being evacuated, homes were being destroyed, and firefighting resources were being stretched thin. For Biden to use a wildfire briefing to share family news struck many as emblematic of what critics described as the outgoing president’s tendency to make events about himself.

Mayor Karen Bass Absent in Ghana

Adding to the optics of a disjointed emergency response, LA Mayor Karen Bass was not in the city when the wildfires erupted. Media reporting revealed that Bass was in Ghana as part of a U.S. Presidential Delegation.

“If you’re wondering where is LA Mayor Karen Bass, she’s been in Ghana,” a reporter noted during coverage. “So she’s apparently on her way back. That’s why we have not seen her on the scene.”

Bass had traveled to Ghana as part of an all-female U.S. Presidential Delegation to discuss education, health, and development priorities with Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who was making history as Ghana’s first female Vice President. While the diplomatic mission had its own significance, the timing proved disastrous from a political standpoint.

The absence of the city’s mayor during one of the worst wildfire emergencies in LA history became a focal point of criticism. Emergency management experts and political commentators noted that a mayor’s presence during a crisis serves not just symbolic but practical purposes, including coordinating local response efforts, communicating with residents, and making real-time decisions about resource deployment.

Governor Newsom Faces Reporters

Governor Gavin Newsom was on the scene during the early stages of the wildfire response, but his appearances were marked by uncomfortable exchanges with reporters shouting questions at him. The media also noted the awkward dynamics when Newsom appeared alongside Biden, with reporters pressing both officials on the adequacy of the emergency response.

The situation highlighted the political vulnerabilities of California’s Democratic leadership. With a president in his final days in office, a mayor out of the country, and a governor facing questions about the state’s preparedness, the wildfire response became a case study in leadership accountability during natural disasters.

Trump’s Prescient Warnings About California Water and Forest Management

The wildfire emergency gave renewed relevance to multiple appearances by President-elect Trump in which he had explicitly warned about the danger of California’s approach to water and forest management.

Just four months before the January 2025 fires, Trump had spoken in LA County about the need for California to redirect more water to vulnerable areas. “You have so much water, and all those fields that are right now barren, the farmers would have all the water they needed,” Trump had said. “And you could revert water up into the hills, where you have all the dead forests, where the forests are so brittle. The land would be damp, and you’d stop many of these horrible fires that are costing billions and billions of dollars.”

Trump had also appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast, where he elaborated on the water and forest management issues in detail. He described how water from northern California was being routed into the Pacific Ocean to protect a small fish species rather than being directed to agricultural and forest areas.

“In order to protect a tiny little fish, the water up north gets routed into the Pacific Ocean. Millions and millions of gallons of water gets poured,” Trump explained. “I could have water for all of that land, water for your forests. Your forests are dry as a bone. Dangerous. That water could be routed.”

Trump also invoked international comparisons to support his forest management argument: “I go to Austria. The head of Austria tells me, you know, we have trees that are much more flammable than what you have in California. We never have forest fires because they maintain their forests.”

He had previously stood alongside Newsom following the 2018 California wildfires and stressed the importance of proper forest management, making his warnings a consistent theme spanning both his first and second terms.

The Water and Forest Management Debate

Trump’s argument centered on two interrelated issues. First, he contended that California’s environmental regulations prevented adequate water flow to forests and agricultural areas, leaving vegetation dangerously dry. Second, he argued that restrictions on forest management, including clearing dead trees, fallen timber, and accumulated leaves, created conditions for catastrophic fires.

“There’s a case with the environment. They’re not allowed to rake their forest because you’re not allowed to touch it,” Trump said. “And all they have to do is clean their forest, meaning rake it up, get rid of the leaves, get rid of leaves that are sitting there for five years, and get rid of the dead fall. And get rid of the trees that have fallen.”

The arguments were not new, but the timing of the January 2025 fires gave them renewed urgency. Critics of California’s environmental policies pointed to the fires as validation of Trump’s warnings, while defenders of the state’s approach argued that the wildfire crisis was driven primarily by climate change, drought conditions, and urban expansion into fire-prone areas.

Additional Context

The January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires proved to be among the most destructive in California history, causing billions of dollars in damage and displacing thousands of residents. The fires burned through neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and other communities, with strong Santa Ana winds driving rapid spread that overwhelmed firefighting resources.

The political fallout from the disaster affected leaders at every level of government and became a significant topic during Trump’s transition to power.

Key Takeaways

• President Biden used a California wildfire briefing to announce he had become a great-grandfather, drawing criticism for the personal aside during a major disaster.
• LA Mayor Karen Bass was in Ghana on a diplomatic mission when the fires erupted, prompting questions about her absence from the city during the emergency.
• President-elect Trump’s warnings about California water and forest management, made just four months earlier at an LA County event and on the Joe Rogan podcast, proved strikingly prescient as the fires devastated the region.
• Trump had argued that California’s environmental regulations blocked water flow to dry forests and prevented necessary forest maintenance, creating conditions for catastrophic wildfires.
• Governor Newsom faced pointed questions from reporters about the state’s wildfire preparedness during his on-scene appearances.