President-elect Donald Trump will “probably” travel to Southern California next week, he told NBC News, in the likely first trip of his second term to the liberal stronghold still recovering from some of the worst wildfires in its history.
in a wide-ranging telephone interview On Saturday with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, Trump said he “was going to go, actually yesterday,” to the Golden State, but decided “it would be better if I went as president.”
Wildfires have raged in and around Los Angeles since January 7, killing dozens and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. according to the associated presswhile they devastated the second largest city in the country.
California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, who has been criticized by Trump and Republicans for his handling of the fires, invited Trump visiting California last week. President Joe Biden was in Los Angeles when the fires started earlier this month, and Vice President Kamala Harris, whose primary residence is in Los Angeles, canceled her last foreign trip as vice president because of the fires.
Tensions have flared in recent weeks between Trump and Newsom, and in the interview, Trump said he had not yet spoken to the governor about the fires. Trump also discussed a number of other issues, including his plans to increase mass deportations “very soon, very quickly,” but said he did not want to reveal which cities the operation would begin in because “you’ll see it firsthand.” “
Trump said he believes he and his team “made the right decision” to move Monday’s inauguration ceremony to the Capitol due to freezing temperatures, adding that his goal is to sign “a record number of documents… right after of this (inaugural) speech. .”
Speaking about TikTok, which he said would “go dark” on Sunday after the Supreme Court ruled that the app must be sold to a non-Chinese buyer, the president-elect said a “90-day extension is something that will probably be done.” . .”
“If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday,” he added.
And as for the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that Israel agreed to earlier Saturday, Trump promised to ensure the deal would hold through “good governance.” He said he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally, “fairly soon.”