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Inside Politics

Trump Blames California's Democratic Governor for Fires; Apocalyptic Scenes in L.A. Area as Fires Rage Out of Control; Palisades Fire is Zero Percent Contained and Growing Says Fire Chief; State Funeral for President Jimmy Carter Tomorrow. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired January 08, 2025 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:30:00]

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR OF 'INSIDE POLITICS': -- fires. He blamed him for different aspects and the -- or the other governor for different aspects, including not raking the forests and so forth. Can you just, kind of knowing a little bit about this, put into context, never mind the sort of the politics and the questions, the timing of it, but the stance of his accusation?

TAMARA KEITH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NPR: Yeah. So what he's talking about is an endangered fish that is at the center of a very long water war in California, about how much water can flow out of the delta in Northern California and go to Southern California. It -- like, trying to explain water politics in California --

BASH: Yeah.

KEITH: -- is almost impossible. It goes back generations.

BASH: Sure.

KEITH: And this tiny smelt is part of it. I think that the larger issue here is that the future president is seemingly trying to start a feud with the governor of a state in the middle of a crisis, a crisis that is being driven by Santa Ana winds, and --

BASH: And the fact that it hasn't rained.

KEITH: And it hasn't rained, it's been very dry in California. This is a dynamic that has existed in this state forever and it's why -- it is a beautiful state and it is also a state of tragedy repeatedly -- I should say I grew up there too.

(LAUGH)

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, CO-AUTHOR, THE WASHINGTON POST EARLY BRIEF: So getting to the water component, absolutely. It's not just a California thing and it's an entire Southwest thing.

BASH: Yeah. We have a California girl here, we have a Nevada native.

ANN CALDWELL: So yes, there are absolutely politics involved in water control and how this water is used in California and elsewhere in these states that are thirsty -- are very thirsty. But usually what happens is, we all know when there is a national and natural disaster, is that you reach out to the leaders of the state. You offer them public support and assistance. You say good things about them. Now is usually not the time for politics.

But as we all know, we have lived through this once. That is not usually how Donald Trump operates. There had been reporting, even recent reporting that said that, during past natural disasters, when Donald Trump was in office, that he would ask his team how many people supported him in that state and what else they could do for him in order to receive federal funds and federal assistance.

BASH: Yeah.

ANN CALDWELL: So, yeah.

BASH: And I just want to say, I did reach out to Governor Newsom's office to see if he wants to respond. It would not be surprising if he didn't. He has a huge crisis on his hands. He was at a press conference last night, talking about the gratitude he has from President Biden, still the current president, who has offered federal assistance as much as he needs.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. And the question is, you know, on the campaign trail, I think it was in October of 2024, Donald Trump was saying that if he got elected, re- elected, that he could withhold federal funds from California. Obviously, he has a sort of a feud with Gavin Newsom, a feud with almost every Democrat governor and senator and Democrat in general.

And I think the question going forward is, could that happen? Is this something he's going to actually do when he assumes office? Because he does kind of see the federal government and the budget and the monies as his own, as to dole out as he wishes to his friends. And so, I think that's the real question going forward.

But it is sort of sad that this is the same president we're getting again, that there are no lessons learned. There's no sense that Californians are Americans, right? That they are struggling in these areas. Two people have lost their lives, these fires haven't been contained at all. It looks like they're probably going to get worse before they get better, and that he doesn't have any sort of empathy and understanding about -- over what these folks are going through.

People have families there, not only -- you might have families still there. I have family there and friends as well. So that's -- it's just -- it's just sad and still shocking.

BASH: Literally, as you're speaking, we're looking at live pictures of neighborhoods in L.A. County burning. I mean, the roof there is literally on fire. And as we heard from local officials, L.A. officials in the last hour, they just can't contain it. You can see the wind there. You can see how aggressive the wind there. I mean, just talking to people, you've probably been talking to your family there. It's -- the winds are so -- the Santa Ana winds are so strong and they're so hot that it's impossible for them to contain now.

At this point, it is just about taking cover and staying as safe as possible and as far away from that as possible.

KEITH: Right. And hoping that the coastal air blows back in eventually. Yeah. Certainly in fires like this, they are -- they are trying to draw lines, but the lines are being crossed by the fire.

[12:35:00]

BASH: Yeah. All right, well, I assume we'll hear from President Biden at some point. It is definitely odd timing that he is there as -- as he said to Susan Page, our friend, he is awaiting the birth of his first great-grandchild somewhere in that area.

All right. Coming up, fire literally jumping roads. That is how officials are describing catastrophic scenes there. In fact, that's what we heard from our own reporter on the ground. We are going to have another update and talk to an expert about the climate around this horrible situation and how it set the scene for it to be really astronomical and, as we've heard many times, apocalyptic.

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[12:40:27]

BASH: Wind-whipped fires are ravaging Southern California as we speak. Tens of thousands of Californians are fleeing and many devastatingly have lost their homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRICIA CONSENTINO, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: When we started walking back to the house, we saw actually, we could see all of the smoke suddenly and we started to run because we knew it had gotten much worse very quickly. Although we were being told to evacuate, we were also being blocked by the road, by police. It was very confusing and we decided to risk it and to drive past the police.

The plumes of smoke were just billowing up the road. There was burnt ash. There were flames on either side of us. The car was very quickly getting smoky. We had wet towels over our faces and the cars ahead of us were not moving. There's also, all of this debris had fallen on the road. There were rocks and small boulders. So that first attempt, I realized if I can't see, I might get caught.

The second time we went down, we actually had a police escort and they had cleared the debris. And at the bottom of the road, there must have been 30 or 40 abandoned cars. So I'm really glad we didn't try that first time because I don't know if we would've gotten through. There were just vehicles on fire on the road burning. I would say half of the people I know, I have about 200 students, I think about half of the people I know have lost their homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Joining me now is Allison Chinchar. Allison, you are in our Weather Center and I know that, you are seeing scientifically, what officials are feeling on the ground there about conditions, which is that it's impossible for them to contain and it could get worse, not only with the fire spreading, but because of the winds and the dryness continuing to spread these fires even further than they already are.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, the wind has really been the key, Dana, because -- I mean, you -- we've both heard at some of these press conferences. They had to -- they had to bring the planes down. They wouldn't allow the planes to go up to deal with firefighting methods because the winds were simply too strong and you need those firefighting planes out there. They help make a huge difference in combating these fires and help bringing those containment numbers up.

So the fact that we haven't really been able to have them up there, that has been a huge disadvantage in fighting these particular fires. And it's not just one, it's four. You look at the map here, again, you've got the Eaton Fire, the Hurst Fire, the Woodley Fire, and the Palisades Fire. Now, I understand for a lot of people, if you are not from this area, it's kind of hard to understand where we're talking about.

So here are some kind of iconic things to let you know where we're talking about. So right here, this is where the Hollywood sign would be, the Griffith Observatory, Dodger Stadium down through here, Pasadena, the Rose Bowl Stadium. And now, when we talk about the Palisades Fire specifically, we do actually have a map to show you. This is the area that has been burned already. It's the red area you see here.

Keep in mind this is several hours old, so it's likely expanded beyond what you are seeing here. But this just kind of goes to give you the scope of what has burned and what it's near, because this is the -- this is the downtown area of the city of Pacific Palisades. You see all of these structures here, homes, businesses, parks, all of this, not to mention the roadways that are so dangerously close to where these fires are.

And again, keep in mind, I said this is several hours old. So this is likely spread into some of these communities since then, before we finally get that updated map. One of the biggest concerns, especially in the short term, is truly going to be the winds. You are still talking some of these areas, 50 to 70 miles per hour. Some of these have peaked at 70 to 100 miles per hour. Now, Dana, these numbers are going to drop to half.

But when you think about that, you do the math, that's still 35 to 50 miles per hour. So it's not going to take much for these fires to spread and any new additional fires to be triggered and then spread into new areas as well.

BASH: 70 mile an hour winds, that is -- and they're hot winds, the Santa Ana winds.

CHINCHAR: Yes.

BASH: -- are just making it impossible to contain and that is clear from not only watching, but listening to the L.A. County officials earlier today.

[12:45:00]

Allison, thank you so much for breaking that down for us. When we come back, we're going to come back here to Washington where the late former President Jimmy Carter is lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. I'm going to speak to a Democratic Congresswoman who named her son after him, about the Carter legacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: You're looking at live pictures of President Jimmy Carter lying in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda as the country honors its 39th president. Tomorrow, his funeral will be held at the Washington National Cathedral. Joining me now is Georgia Democratic Congresswoman Nikema Williams, who has a special bond with the Carters.

[12:50:00]

You -- let's just start with the fact that you represent Atlanta and you represent some of Jimmy Carter's children who live there.

REP. NIKEMA WILLIAMS, (D-GA) CHAIR, GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: I do. I represent The Carter Center. It is in the heart of the Fighting Fifth. And last night, I was able to spend time with the Carter family and talked with Amy Carter, who I am her congresswoman, as well as Chip and a lot of the grandchildren. So --

BASH: I talked to you the day that we learned that he passed away, and one of the things that you said to me was that you didn't know how you were going to tell your son. Your son's name is Carter for the late president.

WILLIAMS: So my husband and I were very intentional about naming our only child, My Carter Cakes, and he was named after President Carter. I am from Georgia, born in Georgia, and naming him after President Carter is something that we continue to remind him of.

BASH: We have a photo there of you with your son.

WILLIAMS: That day was really special. We were at The Carter Center and President Carter kept this little box of Happy Meal toys. When kids visited the office, he would give them a toy and Carter instantly gravitated to that little pig right there. And I think this, like really embodies the quote that we've been hearing a lot in recent days, where President Carter said, you had two obligations, to love God and to love the person right in front of you. And that day, I saw that reflection in the way he, as the former president of the United States, Carter wanted him to oink like a pig because the stuffed toy was the pig.

BASH: Did he do it? WILLIAMS: And he did it. And so, I'm watching my 2two-year-old interacting with the former president, and he, for President Carter, my Baby Carter was the only thing that mattered in that moment. And so it embodies the spirit and the legacy that he continued to lead throughout his life.

BASH: Yeah, I can see you're getting emotional.

WILLIAMS: Yeah.

BASH: I mean, obviously, he lived a very long, very full, incredibly productive life, more than most humans who have ever walked the planet. But when it's somebody who you're close to, it's --

WILLIAMS: He had a deep impact on my family. Growing up in a small town and seeing that even from very humble beginnings, you can achieve anything in this country that is the greatest country in the world. Jimmy Carter being from the south and then getting to D.C. and never letting that change who he was, is something that I strive to do every day, making sure that I keep those small hometown values while I represent the people back home and not letting Washington change me. Love being here, Dana --

BASH: Yeah.

WILLIAMS: -- and representing my people, but it's about the people.

BASH: Of course.

WILLIAMS: -- and he never lost sight of that.

BASH: Yeah. And speaking of Washington, there's so many juxtapositions, let's say, and one of those is we just saw images of the late president, late former president lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Just outside on the steps of the Capitol in just little under two weeks, Donald Trump is going to take the oath of office. Today, as we are seeing these fires burn in a way that we haven't in these densely populated areas in Los Angeles County, the president-elect issued a statement blaming Gavin Newsom, who he called 'newscum' which he usually does.

And he claimed that it was because the Democratic governor of California refused to sign a Water Restoration Declaration, having to do with water politics and climate and environmental politics. There, I should say, before asking you about it, I did while we were on the air, get a response from a Governor Newsom's spokesperson. The governor is a little busy doing the job of the people --

WILLIAMS: Doing the work of people.

BASH: He said we're focused on protecting lives and battling these blazes, not playing politics. We greatly appreciate the offers of support and assistance we've received from the White House and states across the country. I'm sure we're going to hear from the governor later when he has a press conference. WILLIAMS: We have a president that's about to be inaugurated, a former president and a future president, and here he is playing a blame game instead of stepping up to serve the American people. This is par for the course of what we have seen Donald Trump to do. And so, I understand my obligation as a member of Congress to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to uplift the people who need support in California right now.

It -- I mean, we saw it during the hurricanes in Florida, in Georgia and North Carolina. We have to come together in times of crisis and this is when we need our leaders to step up, not Donald Trump playing the blame game just for political purposes.

BASH: We are almost out of time. Just real quick, could you sum up the way you're going to approach the second Trump Administration as a Democrat, as part of the opposition party?

WILLIAMS: So, I've been a minority all my life, Dana, and so I'm really good at making sure that I continue to keep my focus.

[12:55:00]

Speaker Pelosi says sometimes you have to give a punch and take a punch for the children, and I'm doing it for the Fighting Fifth. I know that I have an obligation to continue to do this work as Congressman Lewis taught us to do. Sometimes it takes a little good trouble and I'm not afraid to get into that good trouble, Dana.

BASH: And does that mean though that these just -- sorry, real quick -- these issues you're going to jump on or you're going to maybe this time stay a little bit more focused on some of the issues (inaudible).

WILLIAMS: I think what they want us to do is play whack-a-mole and I'm not willing to chase them and chase their issues. I am focused on the issues that matter to my district and my community and the American people. We've got to get this housing crisis under line. I'm on the Housing Subcommittee on Financial Services, so I know the work that I have to do to continue to uplift the work that we've done over the past four years.

We just got $2.8 million to reconnect communities just in Atlanta, and this is happening because of the Biden-Harris Administration and the work that we've been able to do. So, there's more to be done.

BASH: Congresswoman, thank you so much for coming in.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

BASH: Appreciate it. Thank you for joining "Inside Politics" on this busy day. "CNN News Central" starts after the break.

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