Incompetent Mayor Karen Bass literally read “URL”; Gavin Newscom accuses Trump politicizing wildfire

As the Los Angeles wildfires continued to devastate communities in January 2025, the political fallout intensified on multiple fronts. Mayor Karen Bass committed an embarrassing gaffe during a press conference by literally reading the word “URL” off her script instead of providing the actual emergency website for wildfire victims. Governor Gavin Newsom deflected criticism of his forest management record by accusing President-elect Trump of politicizing the disaster. And CNN’s data analyst Harry Enten dismantled President Biden’s claim that he could have defeated Trump in the 2024 election, calling the assertion “flat-out bonkers.”

Karen Bass Reads “URL” Instead of Emergency Website

During a press conference aimed at providing critical information to wildfire victims and displaced residents, Mayor Karen Bass committed a gaffe that quickly went viral. While reading from her prepared script, Bass was supposed to direct viewers to the city’s emergency information website. Instead, she read the placeholder text.

“Right now, if you need help, emergency information, resources, and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL,” Bass said, reading the literal letters U-R-L from her teleprompter or notes rather than the actual web address that was supposed to appear in the script.

The moment was immediately seized upon by critics as emblematic of Bass’s handling of the wildfire crisis more broadly. The mayor had already faced intense scrutiny for being out of the country in Ghana when the fires erupted, and the “URL” gaffe reinforced the perception that she was poorly prepared and disconnected from the emergency response.

The contrast between the gravity of the situation and the incompetence of the delivery was stark. Families had lost their homes. People had died. Children had lost their schools. Churches had burned down. And the mayor of the nation’s second-largest city could not even read the emergency website address correctly during a press conference designed to help victims.

Newsom Deflects: Accuses Trump of “Politicizing” the Wildfire

Governor Gavin Newsom responded to questions about Trump’s criticism of California’s forest management by attempting to redirect the conversation away from policy failures and toward Trump’s tone.

When a reporter asked Newsom about Trump’s attacks, Newsom expressed visible frustration: “I hate to even ask this question, but the president-elect chose to attack you, blame you for this,” the reporter said.

Newsom replied: “One can’t even respond to it. People are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn asunder. Churches burned down. This guy wanted to politicize it.”

He continued with a measured deflection: “I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say. I won’t.” Newsom then pivoted to praise President Biden: “I stood next to the President of the United States of America today, and I was proud to be with Joe Biden, and he had the backs of every single person in this community.”

The response was notable for what it did not include: any acknowledgment of the specific criticisms Trump had raised about water infrastructure, forest management, or emergency preparedness. Trump had spent years arguing that California’s environmental regulations and poor forest management contributed directly to the severity of wildfires. Rather than addressing those policy arguments, Newsom characterized them as political attacks and attempted to position himself as above the fray.

Critics noted that accusing someone of “politicizing” a disaster while simultaneously standing with a sitting president and making political statements was itself a form of politicization. The defense of Biden and implicit criticism of Trump during a wildfire press conference was, by its nature, a political act.

CNN’s Harry Enten: Biden’s Claim Is “Flat-Out Bonkers”

In a separate but related segment, CNN data analyst Harry Enten conducted a thorough debunking of President Biden’s claim in a USA Today interview that he could have beaten Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

Enten began with his bottom line: “Truthfully, I categorize his statement as flat-out bonkers. Why do I say his statement is flat-out bonkers that he could have won the 2024 election had he stayed in the race?”

Enten then walked through the data systematically. Starting with the state-by-state polling when Biden dropped out: “Look at those Great Lakes Battleground States. You know the ones I’m talking about. Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump ahead in all three. How about here in the Southeast? North Carolina, Georgia? Again, Trump leads. How about here in the Southwest? Nevada, Arizona? Again, Trump leads.”

The margins were not close. “Three, four, five-point leads in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania for Trump,” Enten said. “Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, and Arizona, those key Sunbelt Battleground States: five, six, six, and six-point leads. My goodness gracious.”

Enten then addressed the argument that polling is just a snapshot in time: “Let’s look at the entire 2024 campaign. Days Biden led Trump in 2024 when Biden was still in the race: zero, nada. No days. No days was Biden ahead of Donald Trump.”

He delivered the final piece of evidence: “Biden’s net approval rating on election day: minus 19 points. Look at this: zero incumbents reelected with a negative net approval rating out of six who tried.”

Enten’s conclusion was definitive: “Joe Biden was behind. He had always been behind, and he most likely would have stayed behind. And that’s why I categorized his statement that he could have won the 2024 election as flat-out bonkers.”

Additional Context

The convergence of the Karen Bass gaffe, Newsom’s deflection, and the Biden debunking painted a picture of Democratic leadership under siege on multiple fronts. The wildfires exposed years of policy decisions on water infrastructure, forest management, and emergency preparedness. Bass’s incompetence during the crisis and Newsom’s refusal to engage with substantive criticism highlighted a pattern of deflection rather than accountability.

Biden’s insistence that he could have won, against all available evidence, added to the sense that Democratic leaders were operating in a reality separate from the one experienced by voters and data analysts alike.

Key Takeaways

• Mayor Karen Bass literally read the word “URL” from her script during a wildfire press conference instead of providing the actual emergency website for victims, reinforcing criticism of her crisis management.
• Governor Newsom accused Trump of “politicizing” the wildfires rather than addressing the specific policy criticisms about forest management and water infrastructure that Trump had raised for years.
• CNN’s Harry Enten called Biden’s claim that he could have won the 2024 election “flat-out bonkers,” noting that Biden led Trump on zero days during the 2024 campaign and trailed by 3-6 points in every battleground state.
• Enten noted that Biden’s minus-19 net approval rating would have made him the most unpopular incumbent to attempt reelection, with zero out of six similarly unpopular incumbents winning reelection.
• Newsom deflected criticism by praising Biden and refusing to engage with Trump’s substantive arguments about California wildfire prevention policy.