Local Official

You have a law in the books in your state that requires maybe local law enforcement to protect people that the federal law enforcement agents are coming in to try to deport. I mean, that sounds like a recipe for a big problem.

Can you say more about signing the executive order to get rid of FEMA?

Mr. President, without your help, they're only going to get $43,000 from the federal government, even if they have a half-million-dollar... Well, you know, you did something, Brad, where every insurance company in the country left California.

We had a lot of insurance companies pull out, but I have no idea.

I'm here in Altadena. I just signed an executive order with community leaders to deal with the issue that is becoming a bigger and bigger issue every day. And that's land developers that... are engaging in predatory efforts to make unsolicited offers for properties at significantly below market value. This predatory behavior is disgusting in the best of times.

And of course, here in the midst of this tragedy at scale, it's disgraceful. So we're going to hold those folks accountable. I'm very grateful for the leadership here in the community that promoted this approach and this executive order's reflection of their direction and their commitment

Well, if that's leadership, I have a different definition. I imagine it would be universally felt here. I'm not meeting Democrats. I'm not meeting Republicans. I'm not meeting Californians. I'm meeting American citizens desperate in need. And what they need is empathy, care, compassion, understanding. They need support, not rhetoric, not strings attached.

I mean, I met families who lost not only their home, but their business and their church, their sense of self, place, community. They had a Zoom the other night and everyone broke down crying because all they wanted to do was see the faces of one another.

And yet that's the face of leadership in the United States of America, conditioning aid to the American people in need, politicizing this tragic moment. So I'll spare any more commentary on it, except to say I would encourage these people. They're human beings. They're parents. I respect that. Come out here. Visit. Visit with these folks. And let's have a conversation after that.

This is serious. And, you know, I get it. They want to take us. I get it. I'm not naive. I get the California derangement syndrome. I've been living with that for years and years. New scum. You know, the same seventh grade. I remember the guy on Baltimore Avenue that called me new scum. I was in seventh grade. I can handle that. We'll leave that aside. I understand what they're trying to do.

Let me answer that by Thank you, President of the United States, Joe Biden, who within 36 hours supported a major disaster declaration by text. within a few minutes later, committed 100. He could have just committed 75%, 90. He said 100% of all the costs for disaster recovery that took the time to meet with first responders was here on the ground. I want to thank President Joe Biden

And then I want to offer that as an example to the incoming president of presidential leadership, a president of the United States of America, being here for the American citizen. He didn't ask me, is this a conservative part of California, Altadena? Did they vote for me? He didn't ask for his staff to look at the last election and see how many were for Kamala or how many were for Donald Trump.

He said, you got it. we have their backs, express empathy. I have firefighters that went up to him and they had tears in his eyes after meeting Joe Biden, who was consoling them. I think that's an example for the incoming president.

I don't want him just to see the damage. I wanted to meet with the community. And I also want him to understand the magnitude of what just has occurred in the United States of America. I want to meet with the first responders.

the 15 plus hundred that were on the line heroically in those first hours of this firefight and hear specifically from them what actually occurred and how heroic they were, how heroic police sheriff officers were and the folks that were on the ground, how heroic their actions were and how they saved lives and how they should be celebrated Not attacked.

I want to work with them. It's not about me. It's about people that we both represent. He represents and I represent, and I'm honored and proud to represent these folks.