People watching Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass's colossally tone-deaf response to her city's wildfire Caltastrophe have been treated to the range and breadth of her public persona — her public character — which mostly consists of world-class eliding, smiling, and cheerleading. Alas, cheers appear to be the only thing this woman is capable of leading. And things just got worse with her first sit-down interview. Though the fires have been put out, another one was set with this 17-minute stinker. P.U.
It turns out, that Bass (rhymes with) leaving the country and going to Africa amid the National Weather Service's unprecedented dire wind warnings was actually the fire chief's fault. She said this in a different way, of course, but she made it clear that President Biden wanted her to go to Ghana "on his behalf" and when "I talked about [the dire wind warnings] with" the Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, the chief tamped her concerns.
Angelenos will be surprised to learn that she consulted anyone about the weather forecast or going to Africa, but there was a reason she brought it with local Fox L.A. political reporter Elex Michaelson. It was the setup to throw Crowley under the bus. (Wind warning: Kamala Harris has got nothing on Bass's word salad):
I frankly wasn't aware of although there were warnings I think our preparation what it wasn't what, what it typically is meaning that before there's a major weather event for example ... [Here's where she pivots to say she was ready for the flooding from the rains that came after the fire for which she was unprepared] ... that type of preparation didn't happen. If that had I will tell you Elex I wouldn't have even gone to San Diego let alone leave the country but—
Michaelson interjected at this point, "What do you mean there were warnings you weren't aware of? Because I know we were talking about it on the news a lot [and] people were talking about the problems [and] warning that this was going to be a huge deal."
Warm up the big yellow school bus of blame because here it comes. Bass said, for what I believe is the first time, that she consulted the fire chief about the dire wind warnings.
Related: 'Lack of Leadership': L.A. Fire Vet Says No One Prepared Even After Extreme Wind Warnings
"I, uh, talked about it with the fire chief [and] what she said is that we have warnings of Santa Ana winds a lot, but predicting this." At this point, Bass wanders off to confirm the city didn't prepare and then begins an entirely new verbal construction of why she didn't know it would be so bad.
"So, it didn't reach that level to me," she said, "to say something terrible could happen and maybe you shouldn't have gone on a trip, but to me — I don't know." That alone is disqualifying. How out of touch can you be if you rely on others to tell you about the catastrophic weather event that is all over the news? It was up to her staff to tell her she couldn't go on a trip for the president because she didn't know the weather would be so bad? How would that go over, exactly?
To be fair, no one ever knows how bad a wind event will be, but — has Karen Bass ever been in L.A. during Santa Anas?
She then pivoted to the Gavin Newsom patented answer that someone should do something about this by saying, "I mean I think that, that's one of the things we need to look at look at so two investigations are taking place..." by the city and the fire department.
She needs an investigation to figure out if the fire chief also biffed the assignment.
She doesn't know yet if someone will be fired like her overpaid and obviously unqualified hires who are in charge at the fire department and the L.A. Department of Water and Power.
Related: L.A. Gets Another Reminder of Why Commie Karen Is Such a Dud
Indeed, she blamed the state of California for the only nearby water reservoir being empty saying, "I will tell you that the fire hydrant situation is also something that has to be examined. The reservoir, as you know, was a reservoir for drinking water. The reason why it was empty it was mandated by the state to be emptied because there was a tear in the cover..." For nearly a year?
Worse, a public records request for Bass's text messages shows that Bass's leadership after getting back from Ghana was scattershot and lacked overall strategic considerations–which will not be surprising to anyone observing her from the jump.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district comprises all of the areas burned in the Palisades fire, including Malibu, was beyond frustrated with Bass. Instead of putting on a united front, Bass was freelancing news conferences and decisions. The L.A. Times reported one exchange:
“You asked us to lay off the daily pressers. We did. We asked you to join us for this announcement tomorrow. No response. Now we hear you’re doing one without us today when we are in lead role at your Depts’ request?” wrote Horvath, whose district includes Pacific Palisades.
“Doesn’t feel very ‘locked arms’ to me,” she added, invoking a catchphrase Bass often uses to emphasize the importance of cooperation among government officials. The slogan is central to Bass’ political brand, with the mayor citing it at most public appearances.
Michaelson also asked Bass about the "ambush" interview with a SkyNews reporter when she stepped off the jet from Ghana. Bass blamed the long flight for saying nothing.
"...You've been on a plane 17 hours and somebody hits you with a camera. I wish in hindsight my response had been better," says the mayor, who merely stared dazedly at the reporter asking pertinent, on-point, and tough questions. Burping would have been better than what she did.
Michaelson asked about how long it would take before L.A. residents would get their homes rebuilt: three to five years, she predicted.
Bass says she's running for re-election in 2026 and hopes voters see her as a leader.
Good luck, L.A.
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