Democrats play nice with visiting Trump, as federal dollars hang in balance

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday. I’m your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• Trump and Democrats avoid sparring, talk about fire aid.
• Confusion, denial at border, as path to U.S. asylum shuts down.
• Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter allegedly impersonated him to transfer $200,000.
  And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

Democrats meet with Trump in fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades

Before I get into it, here’s the L.A. Times’ live coverage of these ongoing fires.

If you attempted to drive around Pacific Palisades on Friday, it was hard to miss the blockades.

They were put in place as President Trump was chauffeured around charred hillsides and toured neighborhoods reduced to rubble before speaking at a local fire station.

Trump also met California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and other high-profile state and local democratic lawmakers throughout his brief visit.

While Democrats and the President have sparred, in some cases for years, Friday was about playing nice and talking about fire recovery aid.

At issue is far more than personal feelings: California will require billions in federal aid to rebuild, and local and state entities are banking on large-scale reimbursements for their spending.

Their friendly overtures marked a dramatic reversal from eight years ago, when the party mounted a “resistance” to Trump’s conservative leadership that widened the political divide across the nation. With wildfires raging, working peacefully with the president might boost their political standing.

My colleagues Julia Wick and Taryn Luna offered an analysis as diplomacy over federal aid was on display, focusing on Newsom, Bass and Trump.

Newsom and Trump meet at LAX

Trump shared a warm embrace with Newsom and appeared to pledge his support to Los Angeles.

The president said he appreciated Newsom — whom he often publicly derides as “Newscum” — greeting him on the tarmac and promising to help “fix” damages in the fire-ravaged state.

“We’re going to need a lot of federal help,” Newsom assured the president, patting him on the shoulder of his navy suit jacket before Trump pledged to “take care of things.”

The interaction, which marked the first time the two leaders have spoken in person since 2020, was relatively brief.

What are the issues they’re sparring about

The comments to Newsom on the tarmac came hours after Trump sang a very different tune, telling reporters in North Carolina earlier that day that aid to the state would require a number of conditions, including the adoption of voter identification laws. Newsom sharply criticized the notion of federal aid hinging on changes to state policy in the days before the president’s arrival.

Trump has also repeatedly blamed Newsom for the wildfires, saying that the governor is at fault for fire hydrants that ran dry in the Palisades fire.

After leaving the governor Friday, Trump returned his focus to the state water supply and announced that he was signing an executive order “to open up the pumps and valves in the north,” saying he wants to get water pouring into Southern California “as quickly as possible.”

Local water systems were pushed to their limits during the firestorm, and a large reservoir in Pacific Palisades was out of commission, drawing state and local scrutiny. But experts have debunked Trump’s claims about a broader lack of water in Southern California.

How Bass handled Trump’s visit

Newsom was not invited to a freewheeling wildfire briefing at a fire station that the president held with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and a host of Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

Bass has employed a more careful and conciliatory tone.

While Newsom was loudly decrying a lack of communication with the incoming administration, Bass said she’d had a “fine call” with Trump’s staff and touted her good relationships with former legislative colleagues close to the new president.

Part of this is deeply ingrained style. The former six-term congresswoman is a decidedly unshowy politician who wields her power discreetly — a quiet bearing that has been the topic of criticism during this crisis, when many Angelenos appeared to crave louder and more forceful leadership.

But that same understated mien, unlike Newsom’s flash, could also make Bass well-suited to deal with a volatile president whose support will be necessary to not just rebuild the city but also prepare for several high-profile and resource-intensive events on the horizon.

Los Angeles is scheduled to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027 and the Summer Olympics in 2028.

For more on analysis, check out the full article here.

The week’s biggest stories

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Fire worries

• Risk of debris flow increases for recent burn areas of L.A. County.
• Their restaurants survived the Eaton Fire, but without customers will they survive its aftermath?
• L.A. fires upend fragile child-care industry, sending providers, families scrambling.
• Fires and windstorms caused at least $350 million in damage to L.A. public facilities, report says.

Trump visits SoCal

• Trump surveys Pacific Palisades devastation: ‘It’s incredible. It’s really an incineration.’
• Visiting L.A. after firestorm, Trump focuses on overhauling California water policy.
• This Pacific Palisades resident lost his home to fire. He hopes Trump can help him rebuild.
• Altadena residents feel forgotten as Trump tours Pacific Palisades fire devastation.

Crime, courts and policing

• ASAP Rocky lawyer says gun used in alleged Hollywood shooting was music video prop.
• Troubled juvenile hall gets another lifeline after judge punts decision on closure.
• L.A. County D.A. will not charge Marilyn Manson in rape, domestic violence cases.
• Ice block from JetBlue plane fell through ceiling onto Inglewood couple’s bed, lawsuit says.

Trump appointees

• Hegseth confirmed as Trump’s Defense secretary, as Vance casts tiebreaking vote.
• In Trump’s first week, FCC chair signals headaches ahead for media giants.

More big stories

• Sundance is moving to one of three cities. Here’s what we know about their bids.
• California burglary ring zeroed in on Asian Americans, police say; three suspects held.
• UC, a top recipient of federal research funding, is concerned about Trump pause on grant reviews.
• In deathbed audio, Paul Reubens recalled pain of being falsely labeled a pedophile.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

(Photo Illustration by Diana Ramirez/De Los; Photos by Yesika Salgado, Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times.)

I woke up on a Wednesday morning to mami standing outside my bedroom door holding a burnt sheet of paper. “This was in the garden by the tomatoes,” she explained, still in her bathrobe. I skeptically looked the paper over. An announcement of devastation from flames burning 10 miles away, carried by violent winds to our tiny Silver Lake yard. The previous day, mami announced that the family she had worked with for 36 years had evacuated their Pacific Palisades home.

More great reads

• The start of the Palisades and Eaton fires: 24 hours that changed Los Angeles.
• Column: As Eaton fire advanced, here’s how employees rescued 45 elderly and disabled patients.
• ‘The Night Agent’ creator Shawn Ryan on writing political thrillers and revisiting ‘The Shield.’

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your weekend

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Going out

• 🏠 Sunday Funday is back! Real Housewife Bozoma Saint John talks about bouncing back from losing her home to the fires.
• 💈 ‘When you look good, you feel good’: Black hairstylists offer free services to fire victims.
• 💃 10 L.A. parties where you can dance it out — and raise funds for wildfire relief efforts.
• 🍷 New things to do in the postcard-worthy Paso Robles this fall.
• 🐉 24 delicious ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Los Angeles.

Staying in

• 📕 A new Anne Frank biography, by author Ruth Franklin, takes a generous view of the liberties taken with her legacy.
• 🏈 It’s NFL conference championship Sunday. Here are the Times picks: Is a Bills-Commanders Super Bowl really possible?
• 🧑‍🍳 You can almost smell it from here. Here’s a recipe for Gambas Al Ajillo: Garlicky Shrimp Sauté.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, Sudoku, word search and arcade games.

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

(Addie Green)

Fourteen months after her husband died, she tearfully asked for a sign from the grave. She was lonely but overwhelmed raising two teenage daughters. She just wanted to be with him. On the drive home, she received a proposal from the driver next to her on the heavily-trafficked freeway: “Are you married?” She gave him her number and he immediately texted her back. She had never been picked up on the freeway before. Was this romance set for an HOV lane, or fast-tracked for heartbreak?

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Carlos Lozano, news editor

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