California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters this week that he plans to meet President Donald Trump "on the tarmac" when the Republican arrives in the state to witness the damage from recent wildfires and meet with local officials.
Trump did not invite Newsom, a Democrat, to his meeting with almost a dozen local elected officials, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and eight members of Congress from California, but the governor told reporters on Thursday that he planned to greet Trump at the airport upon his arrival in California on Friday.
"I look forward to being there on the tarmac to thank the president, welcome him, and we're making sure that all the resources he needs for a successful briefing are provided to him," Newsom said. "There's no limit to the resources we'll provide for that briefing."
The governor added that he hasn't spoken with Trump since the president left the White House in 2020, noting that Trump has not returned his recent calls. Newsom said that despite this, he has "a lot of relationships in the Trump world; a lot of relationships of trust. I communicate with a lot of folks around him, folks that have his ear and influence."
He continued, "This is a sideshow, a lot of this stuff, but I know it's the show that's probably the focus of a little bit too much tomorrow, when all I care about is what we can do together to move past this moment and start rowing in the same direction to get this region back on its feet."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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