President Trump is calling out California’s top Democrats for what he says is deliberate negligence in helping Los Angeles recover from the Palisades and Eaton Fires. While the federal government quickly cleared debris and removed hazardous waste, the actual rebuilding has been bogged down by state and city bureaucracy, leaving hundreds of families stranded.

As of last week, only about 300 building permits had been issued out of roughly 900 applications. Many homeowners are still waiting for insurance payouts — or giving up and selling their lots — because they can’t get the permits they need from Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, reminded reporters that it was federal action — not local leadership — that stopped Los Angeles from spiraling into total chaos earlier this year. “If we didn’t go to Los Angeles to help this incompetent governor and a mayor that doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing, you wouldn’t have a big part of it left,” Trump said. “If I didn’t send in the troops, you wouldn’t have had the Olympics in Los Angeles. The place would’ve been just like the 25,000 houses that burned down.”

Trump said even local law enforcement initially praised the federal intervention but later tried to walk it back — something he believes was political. “They were told what to say,” he added, recalling how the police commissioner had originally thanked the National Guard for preventing further disaster.

The president also stressed that federal permits — often the hardest to secure — had already been issued. “The governor ought to focus on getting their permits. People can’t rebuild their house because they can’t get permits from the state and the city. They’re not taking care of it,” he said. “I went there right after the fires, I met a lot of great people. They want to rebuild their homes. We took care of it from the federal standpoint, but they’re not taking care of it from the city, the mayor, and the governor.”

Meanwhile, Newsom spent the same day holding a rally to promote his November 4 special election, aimed at redrawing California’s congressional map to benefit Democrats — a political priority that has nothing to do with getting fire victims back on their feet.

The delays have left residents in limbo, with property values in affected neighborhoods sinking and communities fearing permanent displacement. Trump’s message was clear: if California’s leaders cared as much about their citizens as they do about their political agendas, the rebuilding would already be well underway.

For many Californians, the fires were just the beginning of the disaster. The real damage, they say, is being done now — not by flames, but by a state government that’s more interested in consolidating power than restoring homes. And with the Olympics on the horizon, Trump is warning that without urgent action, Los Angeles could face an embarrassing international spotlight for all the wrong reasons.