President Donald Trump will visit communities ravaged by natural disasters in North Carolina and California on Friday, according to a person familiar with his plans who shared them on condition of anonymity, Bloomberg reported late Wednesday.
Pasadena Now has not obtained confirmation of the trip from local authorities.
According to the New York Post and Bloomberg, the president will tour Asheville, North Carolina, which is recovering from devastating floods caused by Hurricane Helene in September, and parts of Southern California, where recent wildfires made worse by strong winds have burned entire neighborhoods.
Trump highlighted both disasters in his inauguration speech Monday, criticizing the federal government’s emergency response under the previous administration.
“Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, who been treated so badly, and other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago,” Trump said. “Or more recently, Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense.”
The California leg of the trip would come amid tensions between Trump and state leadership.
The president has repeatedly criticized Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over their handling of the fires and has made claims about the effects of California’s water policy on firefighting abilities. One of Trump’s first executive orders renewed efforts to divert more water from northern California to the Central Valley and southern regions.
Newsom, viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, extended an invitation earlier this month for Trump to tour the fire damage. So did Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger.
“Those displaced from their homes deserve to see us all working together in their best interests, not politicizing a human tragedy and spreading disinformation from the sidelines,” Newsom said.
The New York Post first reported the planned visits.