LA Mayor Bass Demonstrated that Wildfires Were Not High on her Priorities List

In an NBC interview over the weekend, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass admitted publicly for the first time that her trip to Ghana just before the Southern California wildfires last month was a mistake.

Before the fires, Bass demonstrated that wildfires striking the city were not high on her list of priorities. Last year, Bass led the movement to slash Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) for the 2024-2025 city budget. Originally aiming to cut $23 million, she managed to cut $17.5 million instead. Then, in early January, Bass was warned that very high Santa Ana winds were coming and was advised to stay in the city for the potential emergency. However, she instead carried on with her plans to travel to Accra, Ghana, where she was part of the U.S. delegation attending the inauguration of Ghana President John Mahama.

When the fires struck last month, President Joe Biden, Governor Gavin Newsom, numerous local officials, and fire crews were quick to bring in relief on the ground. But Mayor Bass, in Ghana, showed a much less limited response. While she did declare a state of emergency from Ghana, she stayed another day there despite the emergency. She eventually flew back to Los Angeles on January 8th. However, by the time she landed, the Mayor was the main target of criticism, with many saying she refused to go back to the city in its time of need, that her policies contributed to the chaos of the lack of water in fire hydrants to fight the blazes, and that her decision to cut LAFD funds removed vital resources from firefighters.

The following weeks didn’t help Bass. This included giving a minimal response to the fires on the first day back, refusing to answer press questions, and showing an overall general mismanagement of the fires once she returned to L.A. In addition, it was revealed that she promised to never travel abroad as Mayor when campaigning in 2022, yet traveled later anyway. In more recent weeks she was also outclassed by President Donald Trump at a roundtable press meeting and has seen record low approval ratings. In addition, recall efforts are currently being built against her as an overall result.

This led to the NBC interview over the weekend. When asked if her Ghana trip was a mistake, she admitted that it was.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Bass. “There is no question about that.”

Bass’ Mistake

She then stated that she wanted to bring confidence back as the city recovers from the fires.

“Absolutely it is,” added Bass. “And, I think that I have to demonstrate that every day by showing what we’re doing, what is working, what are the challenges. And, to bring Los Angeles forward. “I am focused on one thing and one thing only. That is to make sure that our city is able to recover and rebuild and that all of those individuals who live in the Palisades can go home. That’s my focus. That’s my mission. That’s what I’m going to do every day.”

However, Bass slowly admitting to many mistakes before and during the fires isn’t helping her public image. She remains at record low approval ratings, with Rick Caruso, who lost to her in the 2022 election, becoming one of the most vocal opponents of her. Caruso has even come forth as a possible candidate for the 2026 “Olympic” Mayoral election as a main challenger to Bass once again.

“Bass saying that it was a mistake is, well, it’s better late than never, but it isn’t helping her case,” former lobbyist Harry Schultz told the Globe on Monday. “She lost a lot of donors and supporters through the fires, many blaming her for having their homes lost. And even if she isn’t being blamed, they ask where she was while the fires were going. Hate is a strong word, but a lot of people absolutely hate her now.

“She’s still trying to damage control her public image., but let’s be real. She’ll always be the Mayor who let the city burn. If she runs next year, it will come up constantly. She really wanted to be there at the Olympics too, giving that internationally televised speech opening the games. That dream is all but dead now.

“If she was still in the city and was seen on TV telling them to send every available truck out there, then she would have at least been seen doing all she could. But she wasn’t. She knew there was a big fire risk, yet went anyway. And look, even if she survives a recall, there is no way she will be reelected. The interview was a bad attempt at damage control, and look at that – more and more Angelinos are looking towards Republican leadership as a result. She’s not in a good place.”