President Donald J. Trump toured the sites of two destroyed homes on Point Dume in Malibu on Nov. 17, alongside Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom. Air Force One landed at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu midday Saturday, after which the president made his way to Dume Drive in Malibu before going on to Ventura County. Trump, whose motorcade caused a full shutdown of Pacific Coast Highway throughout much of Malibu on Saturday afternoon, also had a chance to speak briefly with Malibu Mayor and Fire Captain Rick Mullen.
“Three deaths. That’s pretty incredible. It’s horrible, but it’s also pretty incredible—the job they’ve done,” Trump said in remarks following his tour of a destroyed home.
“They evacuated very early and they took a lot of heat and they made the right decision. So, I congratulate you on that because that’s a lot of political pressure on not having to do it because nobody thinks this is going to happen.”
The visit came just days after the president sent out a tweet threatening to withhold federal disaster money from California.
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!” Trump tweeted, hours after the fire tore through Malibu. In light of the tweet, the president’s visit provoked mixed reactions in Malibu.
