In times of crisis, pointing out the failures of Democrat politicians is unseemly.
This is why President-elect Trump’s criticisms of California Gov. Gavin Newsom garner more attention than Newsom’s failures.
The Washington Post: “As wildfires rage in Los Angeles, Trump doesn’t offer much sympathy. He’s casting blame”
The New York Times: “When Disaster Hits, Trump Is the Blamer in Chief”
CNN: “Trump seizes on Los Angeles infernos to reopen his feud with Newsom”
When Republicans fail, Republicans are the story.
When Democrats fail, Republicans noticing the failures are the story.
But despite what Democrats and their parrots in the media want you to believe, Trump is not the story here.
Imagine, for a moment, if California were run by a Republican governor. Or that the Mayor of Los Angeles was a Trump-supporting Republican.
What would the reaction be if a MAGA mayor was attending a presidential inauguration in Ghana while their city was devoured by historic wildfires?
How about a Republican governor spending more time whining about getting blamed for a crisis rather than addressing his administration’s failures that exacerbated the problems?
Naturally, the coverage of this tragedy would be wildly different.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, no stranger to managing his state’s response to natural disasters, is very familiar with the discrepancy.
When a reporter asked him to comment on Trump’s criticisms of Newsom, DeSantis reminded the propaganda pusher that, “if Newsom was a Republican, you would have him nailed to the wall for what they’re doing over there.”
Holding leaders accountable shouldn’t be contingent on their political affiliation.
Yet, the mainstream media helps feed this double standard by giving progressive pols the kid gloves treatment.
“I hate to even ask this,” CNN’s Anderson Cooper prefaced his softball to Gavin Newsom, “but the President-elect chose to attack you, blame you for this.”
Keep in mind, Anderson Cooper didn’t ask anything. He simply gave Newsom a nice opening to talk about how Orange Man is bad.
As expected, the governor laid it on as thick as his hair gel.
“One can’t even respond to it,” Newsom fired back before, of course, responding to it.
He whined to Cooper that Trump was trying to “politicize it.”
If only Newsom was as scandalized by his state’s lack of preparedness for these fires as he was by Trump’s social media posts.
Alas, Cooper’s question about the fire hydrants running dry in the Palisades didn’t illicit the same kind of passion from the governor.
“Look,” he stammered, “the local folks have gotta figure that out …”
I’m not sure where the buck stops in California, but it certainly does not have a table at the French Laundry.
A few days after that interview, while the wildfires persisted, Newsom continued to rise above playing politics by sitting down for an interview with the Pod Save America podcast.
He dodged any responsibility while whining to the Obama bros about Trump spreading disinformation and not showing him enough grace.
“But no one has any patience anymore,” he complained before concocting a word salad about grievances, immediacy, lies and of course Trump.
It is worth noting that this “grace” that Newsom feels he deserves, is one that he has not offered to others.
He had no issue blaming Trump and Republicans for a culture of gun violence after the Gilroy shooting in 2019.
That same year he pointed the finger at Trump for delaying homeless aid to the Golden State.
It seems like playing politics is right up Newsom’s alley when it fits his narrative. And he isn’t alone.
Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal tweeted out a video of a McDonalds restaurant in California engulfed in flames and captioned the insensitive post, “Corporations got us into this mess, but even they can’t escape the devastating reality of climate change.”
McDonalds is responsible for the LA Fire Department having its budget cut by $17.5 million dollars?
The more you know!
Not to be outdone, an irate Maxine Waters informed Chris Cuomo that, “services cost money,” before shouting that, “we should be willing to get the richest people in this country, the richest 1% that is protected, make sure they pay their fair taxes so that we can have the money to provide the services.”
That’s the real takeaway in all of this: Californians don’t pay enough taxes.
Considering Waters has been the U.S. representative for California’s 43rd congressional district since 1991, you would think she would be aware that Californians pay the highest taxes in the country. The top income tax rate in California is 13.3%. What number would Maxine consider “fair”? 14%? 15%? Just let us know!
Of course, it is easier for Waters to blame taxpayers who are dealing with immeasurable tragedy than it is to criticize her fellow feckless, Trump-deranged government hacks.
One thing is clear, the blame game is okay as long as Democrats are the ones pointing the finger.
