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DeSantis Torches the Media on LA Fires Coverage: If Newsom Were a Republican, You'd Be All Over Him

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 12, 2025 6:50 AM

He’s not wrong. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wouldn’t let this question get any traction. Some in the media and especially in the Democratic Party are trying to use the Los Angeles County wildfires to attack Donald Trump. It’s not a shocking move but also a pathetic one: Trump isn’t president right now, but Joe Biden is when he can remember. In California, the brain trust that led to this shambolic response to this disaster is all headed by Democrats. It’s a big blue mess. So, when Gov. Gavin Newsom whines about Trump torching his managerial skills, he should sit down and take it. The reservoirs weren’t filled when they should’ve been, Newsom—that’s on you and this entire political leadership core you have in the Golden State. 

At a meeting with GOP governors at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, DeSantis quickly shot any notion of Trump scoring points over this disaster or whether it’s appropriate for him to bash the idiots that made this wildfire fiasco that much worse with their incompetence. Why? We all know: If Newsom were a Republican, he’d already be politically dead (via RealClearPolitics): 

REPORTER: Is it appropriate for a president-elect or a president to be criticizing -- 

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Is it appropriate for people in your industry to try to create division and to try to create narratives anytime these things happen? Now, you're not as interested in doing that because Newsom is a D. If Newsom was a Republican, you guys would go try to, you would have him nailed to the wall for what they're doing over there. 

And I know we've dealt with it. We just assume in Florida, anytime something happens, it's going to be politicized by the media. So you guys sitting in judgment of Donald Trump, I mean, excuse me, I think your track record of politicizing these things is very, very bad. 

REPORTER: But Trump said Newsom should resign and that the wildfires are all his fault. So do you agree with those comments? 

DESANTIS: I've had -- I remember when we had the Surfside Tower collapse. 

I had people from the Washington Post trying to blame me for it immediately without having any facts or anything. Oh, he didn't declare a state of emergency. First of all, state of emergency doesn't mean you can't respond. 

It's all that. 

REPORTER: Biden didn't. 

DESANTIS: Excuse me? 

REPORTER: Biden didn't. That's what she said. 

DESANTIS: Well, but what I'm telling you is you guys are trying to make an issue of it. When I have watched from this seat, in fact, when I got elected governor, I was meeting with some of the other Republican governors and what they would say is, "Hey, if you have a natural disaster, just know media's coming at you." 

They're going to do it. It's not the same. That mayor of LA, if that were a Republican mayor, I can only imagine what that would do. 

I mean, you know, the fires are at high risk and you try to go to Africa or wherever she was to go on some type of voyage. You should have been there preparing and doing that. And yet I don't see a lot of heat being directed in that thing. 

And so, you know, I just, I'd like to see some balance on how this is, this is done. You could criticize the president elect, but I think you also have to hold these other people accountable. And I have not seen that. 

And remember that time Kamala Harris tried to score points after Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida, saying DeSantis wasn’t returning her calls. That was a lie: she never called him.

Democrats, you got nothing. Take your punishment because it's coming.