Democratic Senator Adam Schiff has turned down Donald Trump’s invite to tour the devastation caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles.
The president left Washington for his first trip of his second administration Friday to do a tour of disaster zones in North Carolina and California.
He invited Schiff, a longtme foe who he called ‘scum’ on his first day back in the White House.
But a spokesman for the newly-elected California Senator said he was ‘unable’ to attend due to ‘scheduled nomination votes’.
Trump heads first to Asheville, which was devasted by tornadoes in September, and where he condemned President Joe Biden’s response to the disaster.
He was asked why he invited Schiff as he departed the White House Friday morning, asking questions about it and hinting at the obvious tensions.
‘I don’t know. Is he going? Is he going? I don’t know, I mean I really don’t,’ he told a reporter. ‘You know, because if he’s going to be there it would be cheaper, but I didn’t invite him. Somebody did,’ Trump said.
Schiff’s office had said the new Democratic senator ‘greatly appreciates the President’s visit to see the devastation of these wildfires firsthand and the invitation to accompany him, and regrets that he’s unable to join the President in Los Angeles due to scheduled nomination votes.’
More controversy awaits when he tours areas of Los Angeles levelled by wild fires.
He has frequently abused Gov. Gavin Newsom, nicknaming him ‘Newscum,’ and claimed that he will withhold federal aid unless the state turns on a valve he claims would allow water to flow in from northern parts of the state.
Experts say there is no such valve and that California has worked for years on trying to get more water to dry areas of the state.
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff has turned down Donald Trump’s invite to tour the devastation caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles
‘I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,’ Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday.
The president also suggested shifting more responsibility to individual states for managing disasters.
‘I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,’ he told Hannity, adding that ‘FEMA is getting in the way of everything.’
He is due to fly to Las Vegas in the evening to stay at one of his own hotels, before heading to Miami for the rest of the weekend.
Advisers said in Nevada he will set out how he will keep a campaign promise to remove tax from tips while celebrating his win in the state on Election Day.
The president is traveling outside Washington for the first time since returning to power on Friday and Los Angeles is on the agenda to tour the damage
Pictured: A neighborhood in Malibu that was completely destroyed by the Palisades Fire
Trump is a longtme foe who he called ‘scum’ on his first day back in the White House
Speaking during their visit to Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park in Paradise, California, in 2018, seen here, Trump and Newsom haven’t spoken since Trump left office in 2020
Trump was asked about his invitation to Schiff as he departed the White House
‘I’m going to go to Nevada to thank them,’ Trump said. He was the first Republican candidate to win the state since 2004, when George W. Bush beat John Kerry
It caps a busy end to a busy week, marked by dozens of executive orders and multiple impromptu press conferences.
Advisers said he will offer details on keeping a campaign promise to exclude tips from federal taxes, while reveling in having won Nevada in an Election Day upset.
“I’m going to go to Nevada to thank them,” Trump said. He was the first Republican candidate to win the state since 2004, when George W. Bush beat John Kerry
