After trading barbs all year, Newsom and Trump meet at California fire zone

California

Since the president announced his visit, there had been speculation as to whether he would be joined by the governor-elect, who campaigned as an alternative to Trumpism.

YUBA COUNTY, Calif. — Two weeks after decisively winning an election framed as a referendum on President Donald Trump, California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom met his foil for the first time on a smoke-stifled tarmac as the state burned.

Newsom and Gov. Jerry Brown were on hand when Air Force One touched down at Beale Air Force Base north of Sacramento on Saturday, Trump’s second visit to California since assuming the presidency. The three shook hands and exchanged words, the silhouettes of trees at the end of the tarmac barely visible through a grey haze.

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From the moment Trump announced his visit, there was speculation as to whether he would be joined by Newsom, who has framed his imminent governorship as a counterweight to the president.

But as California reels from the deadliest wildfire in state history, Trump’s visit affords the incoming governor an ability to rise above the animosity and work with the federal government when the need arises – even as he faces pressure from liberals at home to do the opposite.

“A smart woman once told me that you campaign partisan and you govern bipartisan,” Dana Williamson, an adviser to Brown, told POLITICO. “It’s imperative that the victims of these horrible fires and the thousands of first-responders have the full attention of our federal, state and local leaders regardless of politics.”

A spokesman for Brown said he joined at Trump’s invitation.

Newsom and Trump have long been locked in a dance of mutual enmity, each regularly invoking the other to galvanize their respective bases: Newsom positions himself as the champion of California’s alternative to Trumpism, while the president caricatures Newsom on the campaign trail as an extreme liberal who wants to open borders and distribute free health care.

Still, the social media reaction underscored the political peril, with detractors questioning Newsom’s decision and equating it to an act of betrayal.

Numerous users said Newsom and Brown should use the opportunity to demand that Trump apologize for his tweets faulting California for the severity of the fires or to challenge the accuracy of his claims. While some praised the show of unity, others said Newsom should have slipped the appearance to send a statement. More than a few mentioned that Newsom’s ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle is now dating Trump’s son Donald Jr. and wondered if the relationship would come up.

When Trump a week ago responded to the natural disaster ravaging California by deriding the state’s management and threatening to halt federal help, Newsom joined Democrats heaping on criticism. “Lives have been lost. Entire towns have been burned to the ground. Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes. This is not a time for partisanship,” he said.

The sight of Brown alongside Trump was also jarring, given how the current governor has sparred with Trump – particularly over the White House’s unraveling of policies intended to blunt the effects of climate change, a signature issue for Brown. Trump told Fox News’ Chris Wallace in an interview set to air Sunday that while an altered climate contributed “a little bit” to voracious wildfires, forest management was the larger culprit, and he reiterated on Saturday that he believes better managing forests is the paramount issue.

Joining Trump on Air Force One were two of his top allies from California’s diminishing Republican congressional delegation: newly elected minority leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who represents the area ravaged by flames.

They departed from Beale Air Force Base with Brown and Newsom by helicopter to the fire zone about 60 miles north.

While Trump is reviled by much of the California electorate, the area at the heart of the fire’s devastation supported the president in 2016. In the town of Paradise almost completely destroyed by the Camp Fire, Trump won 53 percent of votes in 2016, compared to 37 percent for Hillary Clinton.

LaMalfa, the Republican who represents the area, told McClatchy that he had invited Trump and echoed the president’s calls to better manage the trees that fires feed on.