WASHINGTON — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s official reason for visiting Washington this week was to shore up federal disaster aid in response to the Los Angeles County wildfires.
But the Democratic governor of California also had another objective: To continue to repair his rocky relationship with the commander-in-chief.
“There’s a familiarity, and there was a relationship that was born of a crisis around COVID,” Newsom said in an interview Thursday, adding that President Trump came through for California during the pandemic. “I wanted to go back to that space.”
The governor described his 90-minute sit-down with the president in the Oval Office Wednesday as “a real and substantive” and “positive” conversation that included wildfire recovery and more thorny topics, such as water policy and the bills on Newsom’s desk to increase legal funding to challenge the president’s actions in court.
Newsom’s expedition into the Republican White House shows the evolution of his approach to Trump: from a Democratic fighter and outspoken critic during a bruising election cycle to a statesman eager to move past the “noise” and forge a path to work together to benefit Californians.
“In a time of need and crisis, people need to see their representatives working together,” Newsom said. “I have no patience for people not working together in a crisis.”
As a top Democrat in a nation that elected Trump in November, crossing party lines and rebuilding a bond with the same guy who nicknamed him “Newscum” and previously blamed him for the wildfires could also help his political career if the governor has presidential ambitions of his own. The visit Wednesday appeared to be the president’s first meeting with any Democratic governor in his second term.
“This isn’t Newsom’s first rodeo and he recognizes this isn’t going to be his last disaster,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “If he’s going to be an effective governor, he has to keep lines of communication to the White House open. If he doesn’t, he won’t be an effective governor, and that will make it hard for him to advance politically.”
The relationship between Newsom and Trump appeared to improve in real time two weeks ago when the president visited Los Angeles to survey wildfire damage.
Newsom tapped his shoes as he patiently waited on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport to greet and embrace the president. Minutes after Newsom praised Trump, the president pledged to support the wildfire recovery without any mention of conditions he threatened to demand in exchange for aid earlier in the day.
“When we got off the tarmac, I felt like we were in the middle of a conversation we had 4½ years ago,” Newsom said about the quick shift back to congeniality during their first in-person talk since Trump returned to office.
After the brief airport chat and a 30-minute phone call the next day, Trump’s daily barrage of criticism of the governor has mostly stopped. Newsom has been careful not to immediately react to everything Trump says or does, but also walk the fine line of speaking out when he feels California’s values are under attack.
“This is a next-level and complicated charm offensive,” said Robin Swanson, a Democratic consultant.
Newsom isn’t alone. Other governors around the country are also trying to figure out how to thread the needle with the president, said Gar Culbert, a political science professor at Cal State Los Angeles.
“The Trump administration is trying to demonstrate the strength of the federal government at the expense of the states and Newsom wants the state to be independent and exercise some amount of sovereignty, but it is also reliant on federal funding for a whole lot slew of projects and programs,” Culbert said.
Newsom is attempting to resume the same delicate balance he struck at the beginning of his first term.
While lieutenant governor in 2019, he walked through the charred remains of Paradise with then-President Trump and then-Gov. Jerry Brown after the deadliest wildfire in state history. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the next year, forcing Newsom, as governor, to rely on Trump to tap into the nation’s supply of protective equipment and to seek other federal support.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing Wednesday afternoon that Trump “enjoyed” his trip to survey the remains of the Pacific Palisades fire.
“He felt very inspired by the frustration of the residents there, and he has been wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that the water is flowing in California to prevent these wildfires, and also that people have access to their properties,” Leavitt said, adding that the president “has continued to apply tremendous pressure” on Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to allow people to return to their private properties.
Pacific Palisades reopened for residents last week, though a curfew is still in place, and cleanup of the debris is underway.
“The president is willing to work with anybody from blue states or red states to do what’s best for the American people,” Leavitt said.
Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for Newsom, said federal aid for the wildfires is largely supporting individuals who were affected.
Cities, counties and states apply for federal reimbursement for expenses, such as providing shelter, firefighting resources and debris removal, on an ongoing basis. Then-President Biden pledged to reimburse 100% of fire response costs for the first six months, but additional support will be needed from the Trump administration as the communities begin to rebuild.
“Ongoing partnership and support from the federal government will be critical, not just to the state, but for local governments as the building and recovery enters its next phase,” Ferguson said.
Newsom said federal conditions for wildfire aid did not come up in “explicit terms” in the conversation Wednesday, nor did details about how long Trump would adhere to Biden’s commitment to reimburse costs. Before Trump landed in Los Angeles last month, he told reporters in North Carolina that aid to California would be contingent on the state’s adoption of voter identification laws, among other demands.
The governor said he commended the Environmental Protection Agency for its work during the first phase of hazardous removal of wildfire debris.
On a more controversial subject, Newsom also said he told Trump that he will sign a pair of bills California lawmakers sent to his desk in a special session to provide $50 million to fund court challenges in response to the Trump administration and to support legal services for immigrants.
“I said I never used the phrase ‘Trump-proofing,’” Newsom said. “And I said, and I’m doing it because we’ve already had to litigate against actions you’ve taken and actions you took in the past are likely to happen again. We just have different points of view on these things.”
When asked how Trump responded, Newsom chuckled as he answered.
“As you would expect,” Newsom said. “I won’t get into it. But it’s why it was an extended period of conversation.”
Newsom said the president also “reminded me of things we said on the campaign trail.”
California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson called out the governor for pushing the special session bills, “while simultaneously running to President Trump for help.”
“The hypocrisy is astounding,” Milan said in statement. “Instead of playing political games and positioning himself for 2028, Newsom should focus on fixing the real problems Californians face — rampant homelessness, failing schools and an affordability crisis that are forcing families and businesses to flee.”
State Sen. Henry Stern (D-Calabasas), whose district was affected by the wildfires, said Democrats are prepared to fight Trump when necessary, but disasters demand that they work together.
“The governor’s doing the right thing and he’s got the right humility in his tone,” Stern said. “There’s something about that that cuts through.”
Luna reported from Sacramento, Pinho from Washington.
