LA Mayor Admits Mistake, Wants To ‘Regain Confidence’ After Disastrous Wildfires

In the wake of wildfires that burned through much of Los Angeles earlier this year, a host of Democrats at the local, state, and federal level faced backlash over policies believed to have contributed to the disaster.

The palisades by air. Until you see this for yourself you can’t believe it. All these memories, lives, homes & families gone, for what? Because state & city Democrat politicians prioritize weird woke policies over the people, the homeless over homeowners, criminals’ rights… pic.twitter.com/uNEURdf03d

— Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) February 1, 2025

Mayor Karen Bass, however, received additional criticism for taking an international trip just as conditioned worsened across the city.

Now, she is finally acknowledging that the move was a mistake, as Fox News reported:

“Absolutely it is, and I think that I have to demonstrate that every day by showing what we’re doing, what is working, what are the challenges,” Bass told NBC Los Angeles when asked if she’s trying to “regain confidence.”

The remarks come as Los Angeles faces rainstorms this week, which could create “debris flows” in areas where the fires burned, a landslide risk for what’s left of the disaster that tore through in separate fires in the region. There have already been mudslides in some scarred areas, according to Fox Weather.

Bass was in Ghana for the swearing-in of its president when the fires began, even though there was a high fire risk known at the time. The Palisades Fire started Jan. 7 and escalated through the night, but the mayor did not get back into the city until Jan. 8, and she did not answer repeated questions from a Sky News reporter upon her arrival in the United States.

Bass’ silence went viral and led to backlash from residents and social media.

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Here’s a sampling of the opprobrium Bass received as a result of her trip to Ghana:

Blistering ending monologue from Bill Maher as he torches LA Mayor Karen Bass ‘Nero who fiddled in Ghana as LA burns’:
“Axios ran a story on how getting the water out of the hydrants in Pacific Palisades was more complicated than it seems.
I’m sure it’s very complicated. That’s… pic.twitter.com/mwcBD2Z8Kq

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) January 18, 2025

There is *no reason* for a mayor to be on an official visit to Ghana.

How does that help her city? It doesn’t.

Like so many lousy leaders — Newsom, etc — Karen Bass believes her job is something far grander than what she was hired to do.

That’s the essence of hubris.

— Abigail Shrier (@AbigailShrier) January 9, 2025

Karen Bass cut the fire department, didn’t manage fire hydrants, left for Ghana, and stared in silence when asked questions — but I’m sure it’s all because she’s a black woman! pic.twitter.com/CTUmUmxXs3

— Vince Dao (@VinceDaoTV) January 10, 2025

Even some politicians on her side of the aisle are now calling for her to be replaced as mayor.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), for example, suggested Disney’s CEO to fill the role, as Breitbart reported last month:

Khanna said, “[W]ho should be running for L.A. mayor is Bob Iger. He is someone I know very well. He’s the leader of Disney. He’s a remarkable person. He had thought about running for president. … And we need a new leadership in the state of California and in these cities. Bob Iger would be phenomenal. It’s going to be a huge rebuild in Los Angeles, and I’m hopeful that he will do it.”

Here’s some coverage of one reporter’s confrontational effort to get an answer out of the mayor as she returned from her African trip: