President-elect Donald Trump told NBC News he will travel to Southern California next week. He told NBC News it will be his first visit to the liberal stronghold during his second term, which is still reeling from the worst wildfires in history.
“I was actually going to go to the Golden State yesterday,” Trump said Saturday in a wide-ranging phone interview with “Meet the Press” host Christine Welker, but decided “it would be better if I were president.” ”
Wildfires have been burning around Los Angeles since Jan. 7, ravaging the country’s second-largest city, killing dozens of people and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate, according to the Associated Press.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been criticized by Trump and Republican lawmakers over his handling of the fire, invited President Trump to California last week. President Joe Biden was in Los Angeles when the wildfires began earlier this month, and Vice President Kamala Harris, whose primary residence is in Los Angeles, canceled her final international trip as vice president because of the wildfires.
Tensions have grown between Trump and Newsom in recent weeks, with Trump saying in an interview that he had not yet spoken to the governor about the fires. Trump also discussed a number of other issues, including plans to increase mass deportations “very early, very quickly,” but said, “I don’t want to reveal in which cities the operation will begin because you’ll see for yourself.” ”
Trump said he believes he and his team made the “right decision” to move Monday’s inauguration ceremony to the Capitol due to subfreezing temperatures, adding that he was aiming to sign a record number of documents “immediately after this (inauguration) speech.” Yes. .”
Discussing TikTok, which he said would “blink” on Sunday after the Supreme Court ruled it must sell its apps to non-Chinese buyers, the president-elect said “a 90-day extension is the most likely thing that will happen.” .”
“If we decide to do that, we will probably announce it on Monday,” he added.
And on the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which Israel agreed to earlier Saturday, Trump pledged to ensure that the agreement is upheld through “good government.” He said he would meet ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “very soon.”
