Newsom Accused of Faking a Call with Biden to Avoid Facing Fire Victims

www.mrctv.org

Just a day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom punted responsibility for Los Angeles fire hydrants running dry while the Pacific Palisades and Malibu burned to the ground, the embattled Democrat came under even more fire - no pun intended - for appearing to stage a phone call with President Joe Biden to get out of having to talk to a fire victim.

“Have you got a second? Governor, I live here,” the woman can be seen on video shouting at Newsom as he tried to escape into his taxpayer funded vehicle.

The woman, wearing a face mask to protect against the smoke, then ran up to Newsom explaining that her daughter goes to school in one of the areas being affected by the devastating fires.

“I literally am talking to the president right now to specifically answer the question of what we can do for you and your daughter,” Newsom responded, brandishing his cell phone and attempting to shrug her off.

“Can I hear it? Can I hear your call? Because I don’t believe it,” the woman then asked.

“I’m sorry, I’m literally - I’ve tried five times, that’s why I’m walking around to make the call,” Newsom then said, changing his story from claiming he was “literally talking to the president right now” to saying he couldn’t get cell service.

Related: Newsom: 'Local Folks Are Gonna Have to Figure Out' Why Hydrants Are Empty While LA Burns

After a few moments of the woman begging Newsom to tell her how he was planning to help affected areas including her own neighborhood, the governor’s staff literally shoves her aside so Newsom can get into his blacked-out SUV, telling her he “needs to talk to the president” - in the same spot he previously said he couldn’t get service.

The bizarre interaction and Newsom's changing story prompted many social media users to ask whether the California governor was literally faking a call with the President of the United States to avoid having to answer to his angry constituents for the failure of leadership that led to such a poor disaster response.