Friday’s edition of Washington Week with The Atlantic played defense for the Democratic Party in California over the raging wildfires that have destroyed tens of thousands of acres and thousands of houses, with one panelist in particular taking the time to chiding Trump and call Republicans liars for daring to point out the obvious failures of human response.
Moderator Jeffrey Goldberg was joined at the roundtable by among others, Laura Barrón-López, White House Correspondent for the PBS News Hour, who made the most of her time doing what she does on the News Hour, bashing Republicans and supporting Democrats.
But first, Barron-Lopez faulted president-elect Trump’s team about the events of January 6.
Barron-Lopez: When you take all of these things that people see in front of their eyes, Trump supporters and voters who supported him ultimately believe him over even what we report and believe him over the fact.
Shocking! Perhaps eight-plus years of anti-Trump hysteria on the media’s part led to that lack of trust?
Barron-Lopez ….in response to a terror attack in New Orleans, Donald Trump sent out disinformation, basically saying that it was the result of an open border and that implied that migrants were the cause of this terror attack….[Editor’s Note: Mainstream outlets like the New York Times also flub facts during fast-moving crises, without condemnation]. It was an American citizen that carried out that terror attack.
Discussing the wildfires, she sounded offended on behalf of California’s liberal Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Barron-Lopez: ….in response to the wildfires, he also pushed out more disinformation, not just calling Newsom “Newscum,” he also lied about Gavin Newsom’s handling of the wildfires. He and Republicans are saying, and his son is saying, that it’s a result of DEI hires across fire departments, that that’s what made wildfires worse….
Is it a “lie” to suggest DEI hiring was a factor in California’s failed wildfire response? An opinion, surely, and one partially supported by a notorious resurfaced video of the now-Deputy Fire Chief of Los Angeles, Kristine Larson, who said of rescuing a hypothetical man from a fire: “Am I able to carry your husband out of a fire? He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out.”
Newsweek noted Larson’s “role includes championing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.” Perhaps a little strength and compassion training would be in order for Larson.
Bypassing blame for Democrats to criticize Trump meant Barron-Lopez also had to ignore critical local reporting from decidedly non-conservative sources like the Los Angeles Times. The subject line of one of the paper’s newsletters: “Wildfires, dry hydrants and an empty reservoir.”
Just one damning detail: “This morning we’ll take a look at the problems surrounding fire hydrants, which raise questions over how prepared local officials were for the devastating wildfires that have engulfed L.A. County. Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation into why the hydrants went dry.”