president Donald Trump Declared a national emergency after wandering into devastation Los Angeles fires With residents who were personally affected by the catastrophic event.
Trump traveled to Southern California on Friday to survey the damage from recent wildfires that destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area and tragically took the lives of nearly 30 people.
Trump gave an aerial tour of the area before his landing, with photos showing the neighborhood that was once in ashes.
Then, the President and First Lady Melania Trump experienced the damage up close, meeting with local law enforcement and community members to tour devastated Pacific Palisades neighborhoods.
'FEMA is no good': Trump announces agency reform during visit to North Carolina
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour a fire-damaged area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Friday. (Mandel and)
“Unbelievable,” Trump told reporters at the site.
Trump sat at a roundtable with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other state officials. As the President entered the room, he heard individuals chanting “USA, USA, USA!” Bass received the president and said his presence was welcomed.
“It's an honor to be with you,” he said during the meeting, saying homeowners told him they wanted to rebuild their homes in the area.
Trump said he would sign an executive order to open water valves in the area.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with residents as they tour an area affected by the fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Mandel and)
“I don't think you can realize how cruel it is, how devastating it is until you see it,” Trump said of the wildfire damage. “The federal government stands behind you, 100%.”
Trump said he would waive federal permits to rebuild in the area. “I'll be the boss to help you fix it,” he said. “We will waive all federal permits… because a federal permit could take 10 years… we don't want to take 10 days.”
After the fires broke out, Trump blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic city politics for the damage, citing forest and water management policies.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump walk on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday. (swimming pool)
Newsom was waiting for Trump on the tarmac when he exited Air Force One and was I saw a handshake With the President in the first face-to-face meeting since the inauguration.
“First of all, thank you for being here. It means a lot to all of us,” Newsom told Trump after they met at the LAX amphitheater in Los Angeles just after 3 p.m. local time. “We're going to need your support. We're going to need your help.”
Click here to get the Fox News app
Speaking about his meeting with Newsom, Trump said that “we had a good talk, a very positive talk.”
Trump traveled to North Carolina to tour hurricane damage, before heading to California for his first visit to the state since becoming president.
