switching to geico. >> elgses, eagles. [laughter] >> eagles elimination tour. >> bret: the spelling of the eagles, one week there. monday on "special report" house republicans go on a street in order to get on the same page for the trump agenda please join shannon bream guest include tom cotton and democratic senator richard blumenthal. see my new special "biden's final act" on fox nation. if is available right now. remember, if you can't catch us live, set your dvr 3:00 p.m. in the west coast and 6:00 p.m. on the east. fair balanced and still unafraid. ingraham angle starts now. >> laura: good evening, everyone, i'm laura ingraham. this is "the ingraham angle" from washington tonight. his first week in office.

trump is already rushing to the scene. california governor newsom meeting him at the bottom of air force one in l.a. that moment is all anyone can talk about. the handshake that kept going like a -- little back and forth saw. the hug, the chest tap, the point, what did gavin newsom say and how did trump respond? >> i would appreciate. i appreciate very much. we want to get it fixed like got hit by a bomb, right? >> yeah. got hit by a bomb. >> most importantly, thank you for being here. it means a great deal to all of us. not just the folks in palisades, the folks in altadena that were devastated. we're going to need your support. we're going to need your help. you were there for us during covid, i don't forget that. and i have all the exceptions

that we'll be able to work together to get this speedy recovery. >> we'll. we have got to get it done. >> laura: that moment was handled quite well. and the president is touring areas destroyed by the ongoing wildfires. and we're expecting to see him at any minute. we will be having a round table at a firehouse in the pacific palisades we will bring it to you live when he does. but, first, president trump in everything that is happening today sent another message to americans who felt hopeless, frustrated and abandoned under biden and harris. the message is this: americans will not be left behind several weeks hurricane helene victims felt that the country had moved on. trump was there and hinted that due to its repeated subpar handling of natural disasters. fema may be on the chopping block. >> i will also be signing executive order to combine begin the process of fundamentally

reforming or overhauling fema or maybe get rid of fema. i think frankly fema is not good. i think we will recommend that fema go away. and we pay directly. >> laura: we see the picture now of trump in pacific pasades and continuing this tour. he is going to be meeting with firefighters and, again, we're going to stay on this. but that one visit during an insanely busy first week, to north carolina. would be enough for most presidents. it's all exhausting, especially after the break neck pace of this week. but not donald trump. he flew across the country to california, we see him touring to give residents there the same message you are not alone. this is a bombshell new piece was published in today's "l.a. times." thousands of pages of state, county and municipal records reviewed by the "times" show that the disaster was years in the making in california, red

tape, repeatedly stymied plans for water system im3r506789s in malibu, topanga outside of the city of l.a. including some that specifically cited the need to boost fire fighting capacity. wow. incompetence as far as the eye can see. i'm going to post that tonight on twitter. you can read the whole piece. now, another key issue that trump didn't shy away from, the $200 billion and gavin newsom was hinting at we're going to need help and i will say, because it's going to cost about that much to rebuild the palisades and altadena and other areas affected: the question is will or should u.s. taxpayers write a blank check? >> i have a condition that california we want them to play people have a voice. right now people don't have a voice. don't know who is voting. very disrupt. release the water. if they release the water when i

told him to. i told them to do it i told them to do it seven years ago. if they would have done it, you wouldn't have had the problem. >> laura: water diversion programs not working. what trump just said not going over well as can you imagine with democrats who created this mess. and after initially welcoming trump at the state, of course governor gavin newsom was back to doing what he does best. trying to shut down. trying to shut down debate and avoid accountability. >> incredibly important that people know the truth because it is very damaging when people believe such misinformation. i don't mean it in a malign sense. maybe the president just doesn't know that there is not a spigot that can be turned to solve all the water problems that he alleges exist that don't exist as it relates to the state water system here in southern california. >> laura: that was yesterday. the idea that there is no water problem in california, i mean we all know that's ludicrous. just ask the brave firefighters

who in many cases couldn't even use the hydrants. joining me now alex marlow, editor and chief of breitbart. allison when former obama donor silicon valley tech entrepreneur. alex i know you a long-time california resident. trump seemed to me in observing this from washington that he really didn't miss a beat today. throle that he stepped into agan for the second time of national problem soller and kind of the accountability endorse are forcer. just watching him in both places across country, just seems second nature to him alpha energy i have nebraska never scenic like it. brand new modern american life. not someone so efficient in the first five days of an administration. interesting to how he deals with governor newsom, he has been a fixture in california politics

my entire adult life. he did not invest from water infrastructure. did he not build a single new dam even though we have had double the population the last 40 years. did he ask why the reservoir was empty near the palisades? did he inquire about that stuff? no. he does clown stuff like try to fund a high speed rail. trump proofing california, all sorts of green initiatives salmon runs. a deplete disgrace, he needs to call them out not in an unclassy way he needs to be a unifier. they didn't clear enough brush hiking trails here and there. we were abandoned by the government in this city and that's why it burned to the ground. >> laura: well, i think what we are also seeing here, alison let's dip into president trump. let's dip into that and get back to alison.

[indistinct conversation] >> laura: what we are watching in the pacific palisades, houses on both sides of the street completely destroyed. and you could see in president trump's reaction initially after he flew over this area, i mean, it's one thing seeing it on television. it's another thing flying over it and it looks -- it does look like a historical film from world war ii which is what he said. your reaction to what you are seeing tonight, allison? >> it's historical time, laura. this is day four. and he has done more in four days than biden did in four years. this morning he was in d.c.

then he flew to north carolina to visit the devastation from the hurricane. then he flew on air force one lax, took marine one to the palisades to talk to the victims of this awful biblical fire. he talked to the firefighters and the first responders. i don't remember biden doing. they never even visited north carolina. kamala harris just right before the election she finally went to visit the border. this is what competency looks like people are shocked how much is he getting done. he worked on all these executive orders making sure that we are ahead of china. he is working on the southern border. is he working on the flood victims. i am just really proud to have our president serve and really care about the people of l.a.

it is amazing. alex, to allison's point there. i think we have just gotten so used to having an absentee president, like we're right across from the white house, right now. broadcasting. for four years like the lights are on but nobody is home literally and metaphorically, symbolically. now trump is on the scene everybody knows is he a problem solve are, everybody knows is he a deal maker. i think that emotionally for america is very, very important. i want to play adam schiff the juneier senator from california about possible conditions on aid to the state, watch this. i hope he can't help but be moved by what he has seen. and i would hope also from kind of partisan talk of conditioning aid to california. we have never done that when it

comes to our fellow citizens who are hurting. >> alex, the question of conditioning aid, your reaction to that? absolutely necessary. if we don't do that the state will never change. there is no republicans out here. we have been tracking all of these city council meetings and other meetings breitbart news our reporter is going to be there at the round table at the palisades with the president momentarily. it's a lot of politicians congratulating themselves and scheming on how to get federal money. all they are doing is act like they did a great job. all the bureaucracy that kept all these kids signing paperwork as their houses burn down parents trying to get them out. all these horror stories all these cars piling up that they need snowplows to get the cars out of the palisades. they are congratulating themselves for this stuff. there is no republican checks and balances for the state. it's a one party state and that's why trump is going to come in and say if you want the

largess of the federal government to bail you out. you will have to do basic stuff like have voter ids. there is no reason not to have voter i.d. unless you intend to cheat. that he was the whole hat tuesday with the democrat run single party state and trump has got his eye on the ball. >> laura: much criticized karen bass mayor of l.a. who is out of the country when high wind warnings were issued. she revealed that her brother lost his house in malibu to the raging fires and this was a piece of information that came out earlier today. panel, both of you, thank you very much. all right you, let's go live to the pacific palisades where fox news national correspondent jeff paul is standing by. jeff? it's all the action there laura you hit it on the head. one thing to see it it up close and personal. meeting with not only first responders who are out here bravely trying to put all these fires out. but he is also meeting with some

of the hardest hit people. people who lost their homes. they spent their entire lives, you know, to have a home like this in such a beautiful area like the pacific palisades and just to lose it in a matter of hours. it's just unbelievable when you go through these neighborhoods burned to the ground. i think for president trump it's important to not only hear the stories but see what these wildfires can do. also the water. he wants two things to happen in order to get some of this federal aid out here. he said he would like to we voter i.d. law passed here in california. the other thing is to get water out here. one of the things he is really stressing. just watching this feed today

with the president arriving. one of the other things just remark to believe see this embrace between both california governor gavin newsom and president trump. he got off the plane, they shook hands there was a bit of a kind of a hug there. and they talked a while and they thanked each other, and you know, the governor wasn't invited after that. it sounds like he wanted to show up and be there as a governor. both men thanking each other for their role. maybe this is a new chapter in their relationship because california certainly needs the help right now, laura. gov. >> laura: jeff, thank you so much. before arriving in california president trump as i alluded to was in north carolina. meeting with hurricane helene victims. that was this morning. and they feel many of them that they were left behind by joe biden. >> i wrote a letter to send to congress, you know, i don't understand what's going on. if we can't get fema help, then will you guys help us? will you step up and be our fellow citizen? >> we just lost everything. that we had. >> we try to make our way back in there and gather things best

we could found a body right away we had about 8 body in our area the first two weeks. >> it's been a nightmare and i totally feel like we have been forgotten. if it had not been for our fellow american citizens who stepped up to help us, i don't know what we would have done. hurricane helene. they first brought this story of the trailers to us and the fact that the progress on the ground was just at a snail's pace. matt, thanks for coming back with us. i want to ask you about fema. this is a big story of the day besides what the president is seeing right now. we are looking at pictures from pacific palisades, which is total devastation. just like you all see in north carolina. but, do you believe fema adequately hensd you and your neighbors recover from what wasa

catastrophic hurricane. >> definitely not. no, definitely not. you are asking me whether a giant government bureaucracy, you know, that didn't really help any of us or our neighbors and let people that we know personally down. only got electricity a couple of days ago. my answer is yes, yeah. that needs to go. needs to be handed to the states. they seem to run completely inefficiently and let us all down. lure lawyer you look at how ron desantis handles emergencies and of course brian kemp in georgia and the new governor of -- in north carolina the president going on the job. erin, this is a big controversy right now in washington whether this fema should be completely disbanded and money go back to the states. putting that aside. how important was it to see president trump on the ground it was absolutely incredible and very uniting earlier today.

did you see how long trump let other people talk and he just listened. and that's been matt and i's role for four months now. just having to listen to these terrible stories, these horrific stories of watching children's bodies float by and homes being lost and the most they can get from fema is $42,000. how do they rebuild on $42,000 trump's response was exactly what we wanted. bring back the army corps of engineers. bring back the national guard. do what you can to restore infrastructure immediately. we still have trash hanging from trees. you know, we still have massive amounts of debris everywhere. >> laura: matthew, when i was just watching this in real time with president trump and melania as well whether it was a small

child whose life has been completely up ended by this and the president himself just huddled with these people, been through so much. it really made me both so happy but also, again, mad that this was allowed to fester as long as it has. and we're the biggest most powerful country on the face of the earth. this should never linger as a problem as it is right now. i mean, rebuilding takes time. but not getting people adequate shelter. >> that's right. you know, we feel like we have been screaming this into the void for months now. and when trump came and let other people tell their stories, which we have been hearing for months and months. you just handed the mic and said here's my platform. you take it. you tell your stories. and that's exactly what we have been hearing. the people have been completely let down. they can't rebuild and why in the world did the biden administration not do all of the

stuff trump did today four months ago? why did it take this long? >> laura: right. >> it makes no sense. >> laura: erin, we kept hearing it wasn't possible. right? when we had you on before, the government officials were saying we are doing all we can as fast as we can meanwhile you have franklin graham and samaritan's purse and you have other entrepreneurs and charitable outreach a elon musk moving star link in private sector and charity base together did more in three weeks than these people from the government did in three months. that is a complete travesty. and i think trump is hopping mad about this still tonight. >> yeah. i mean, we are just so relieved that someone else is as mad as we are. you know? this is something matt and i, you know, met our little group of five people on x. we called ourselves operation shelter just so we could give ourselves a name. we are just five people that are

trying to do good for the people around us that are desperate. these people call us in the middle ever the night saying my hotel voucher is gone. can you help me? i'm cold. my propane tank is empty. it is 7 degrees in my rv. it sun bearable to experience this every single day. knowing there is babies, pregnant women in these places. it's just -- it's gut wrenching and i don't, like matt has said so many times. we too not understand why it's taken so long. >> well, erin and matt, thank you for keeping us informed as to what was happening on the ground. but now the story is out. people understand that it is no american left behind. we are not wasting a lot of money. on other endeavors, as long as americans are in continued points and periods of suffering and that should just never happen ever, ever. erin and matt, thank you both. all right, coming up, president trump, again, continues to survey the wildfire damage in

california. we're going to get him in a briefing that he is going to get from officials. that will be later in this hour. we will bring it all live to you, plus, why are democrats fighting to keep crals criminal illegals in the country. yeah. that's next dry eyes still feel gritty, rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo.

>> laura: this a fox news alert. first day of official travel as president. donald trump started in north carolina and now he is in california. meeting with firefighters and surveyings wildfire destruction which is just breathtakingly bad. one homeowner just told him we need your help. officials will brief the officials in moments bring it to you live when they do but first. >> we are getting the bad hard criminals out. these are murderers. these are people that have been as bad as you get. as bad as anybody you have seen. we're taking them out first. >> laura: well, deportation flights. they have begun. trump giving this group of illegal aliens a one way ticket back to guatemala. and easily arrive back in mexico today message to anyone wanting to trust this new administration. [speaking spanish]

>> laura: spread the words. don't come. and as ice is trying to remove illegals, especially violent criminals, democrats seem to be trying to help them stay in the united states. well, and, of course, they are using the same tired excuses. >> i just wonder if we ought to give fair warning to farmers and ranchers across america if you have immigrant labor, can you expect federal agents to come and search your property. can you we expect this administration to be raiding farmings and going after the immigrant farm workers? >> laura: first of all, if you have illegal labor, yes. you shouldn't have illegal labor and it's the law. is dick durbin not aware of that? well, should we get? yeah. you can't have illegals working for you. that's the law of the land. a buffoon. this hasn't left's and the claim berm of commerce's narrative, of course, for the past 30 plus years that i have been covering this issue. i have covered it almost since 1 # 6, 29 years. when we say crack down on

illegals, they say you will never have your fruit picked again or that heaven forbid what you are going to have to lose your illegal migrant yard people? mowing our own lawns, what a concept. somehow we all did that growing up. so amounts to support for the creation of what is really when you boil it all away, to a permanent serf class in the united states. i want to remind everyone that we abolished slavery with the 13th amendment and commanded a never ending stream of migrants to work for below market rates, oftentimes in terrible conditions, whether in landscaping or any other field is not putting americans first dan patrick, dan, tell us about the situation at the border four and a half days after donald trump assumed the presidency. >> it is to put it into a phrase

the nightmare is over, laura, before biden left office just last week, there were thousands a day trying to cross into this country. and immediately it, dropped 100, immediately. they got the message on the other side, don't come. plus, the president has sent in military to back up what we're already been doing in texas. we have spent over $12 billion trying to protect our own state in america. you know, democrats are not competent at running anything, laura. i don't want to politicize this. it's just the fact. and the last administration and remember, when you add the years of obama, you know, 12 of the last 16 years, they have been in charge of these blue states that are now disaster and welcoming illegals in charge of fema that's a disaster and needs to go. in charge of the border doing nothing. so they're incompetent, number one. and then they are idealogues and listen to people like the squad that no one should even put them on television anymore.

these people are just goofy. these are crazy people. you have got democrats who are incompetent and democrats have this ideology of open borders. so the president steps up who is extremely confident. i know i have worked with him for 10 years now and we had many disasters here when he was here right away, laura the day after hurricane harvey. he takes charge. and that's what america has needed and that's what the democrats are not capable of. when they put them in charge they do everything they can to destroy the country. they are totally incompetent and wrong on every issue. this border, i said to you on your show before he took over, on day one, texas and president trump would have it locked down and we do. >> laura: again, let's just remind everyone, that president biden and kamala harris and all their crohn's open border crohn's couldn't do all this. it was never going to work. of course that was false. it was a total lie. dan, it seems that our friends

at cnn are exhausted already and it's only one week of donald trump in a whirl of activity and executive orders. let's watch he is doing a lot of things on the campaign trail. how much organized everything is as far as immigration as well using the military planes, d-17s to transport people back home. that is something all the officials have been previewing and now seeing them execute on it? >> it's only friday. only on day four. only on day four, whew. >> laura: big exhale, dan. this is a commander-in-chief, this is what our leaders are supposed to do. dan you and i have been fighting the bidens and obamas and even some republicans for so long and now we have someone who has a whole four years of experience he knows what the deep state sand pitfalls are this is called

hard work. getting to work getting the job done christmas morning 9:00 a.m. i got a message from the president that he needed some information christmas morning at 9:00 a.m. dealing with the border. then this past tuesday the day after the inauguration early in the morning, everybody is ready to go to work. is he a work aalcoholic. and he expects people to be held accountable. and this is the guy that people have elected and this is why he won. you know, laura, you might -- it would have been great to have him two terms in a row. but you might look back around say what happened, woke up america this is bad how bad the left is, they would destroy this country only person who could come in and fix it once it was exposed to all of us is him i don't know of any other republicans come in after this disaster and taken this action, none. i have a lot of great republican friends. he is the only one that can come in and turn this around and do

it reason at the heart of it he loves people and loves country and hates to see people suffer. >> i want to play something really quickly. chicago mayor brandon johnson who will not change despite the country saying deport these people. watch. >> i want to speak to immigrant population. we are a welcoming city and sanctuary city. any of the measures that the president is looking to execute against working people in the city of chicago. we will defend our city it's just that simple dan, basically we are going to obstruct the rule of law. >> that's not how the people in chicago feel. a lot of them still vote democrat that's not what they believe. in they want these criminals off the street and all of these blue

states are going to have a reckoning happened in november with this election there is another reckoning coming. california, i wouldn't be shocked at all if in the next election it moves moves to the red column. people are fed up and just because you have been voting democrat all your life when your house burns down or see a rapist let out of jail two days after he was arrested. you are going to say forget my d on my jacket that says democrat. i'm not voting for these people anymore. they are putting my family and my own life in harm's way. and laura we are so blessed? >> get to l.a., from texas, thank you so much, dan, we appreciate it. the president and first lady just greeted l.a. firefighters. and in moments is he going to receive a briefing from officials which we want to bring new its entirety. plus secretary of defense nominee pete hegseth confirmation vote expected tonight. very shortly. we're going to go live to capitol hill to give you the latest on that.

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>> laura: this is a fox news alert. president trump is in los angeles. he just met with city firefighters who presented him with a battalion chief 47 hat. trump told the group: we won't let you down, fellows. in moments he is going to receive a briefing from the officials there. we will bring it to you live when he does. karen bass is around the table. you see here over on the left there. all right, well, the senate, also news, set to vote on secretary of defense nominee pete hegseth's confirmation tonight. let's go live to capitol hill where fox news senior congressional correspondent chad pergram is standing by. chad, how is it looking tonight for pete? >> chad: laura, good evening. this vote is close. this is high drama on a friday night in the senate. the vote is on a razor's edge.

right now there are two republican nos. lisa murkowski of alaska and susan collins of maine. membership mcconnell the former minority leader in the senate he voted in favor of getting over a filibuster yesterday but we don't know how he will vote. thom tillis, the republican senator from north carolina council on this. he indicated yesterday that he still had some questions. it's going to be about the math as i always say. they can lose up to three votes if they lose three votes. then vice president vance would break the tie. this has happened before only once on a cabinet secretary nomination. you had mike pence, the former vice president break a tie on the nomination of betsy devos to be the education secretary. that walls in 2017. >> the senate is going to vote here probably around 8:57 p.m. eastern time. why 8:57? well, yesterday afternoon, they finished the filibuster, they cut off the filibuster at 2:57. so they have 30 hours. there is a 30 hour meridian

until they can vote and we expect that vote to start sometime around 9:00 eastern tonight. laura? >> laura: chad, thank you so much we will be watching. and joining me now is ben domenech fox news contributor, editor-at-large of the spectator. ben, before we talk about the pete situation, interesting scuttlebutt, i know you are following it out there in california where gavin newsom shows up uninvited to greet president trump. he gets that nancy pelosi moment with the wagging of the finger like he has a finger in the "new york post" there is a big photo he has a finger pointed at trump. now, it's just a picture. it's caught a moment in time. but thoughts tonight about that? maybe we will show the video, yeah. >> look, i think that gavin newsom has shown himself to be such an empty denim shirt over the course of the past several months. i mean, this is a guy who quite frankly has so much national

ambition, and yet, he doesn't pay attention to the things that you ought to be paying attention to if you are the governor of a state, if he wants to be a chief executive who is able to export himself to the national level, then you can't just be somebody who is running around looking for media hits and where the most dangerous place to be between him and the camera. the simple fact of whatever happened in california is that the buck stops here when it comes to gavin newsom. and that's something that he is unwilling to accept in this moment. he just wants to shift blame as much as he possibly can. and i think that donald trump's presence there, taking this very seriously. is just another reminder of the fact that he is so much more of an active person than joe biden was. joe biden was president when all this stuff was happening why wasn't he going out there to these places? why wasn't he on the ground in north carolina and the simple fact he couldn't be trusted. his own staff knew he couldn't be trusted to do it. look, i'm glad we finally have

an actual president again who is going to be paying attention to the american people even if their leaders like gavin newsom aren't. >> laura: the point of, i think, in reading between the lines and the body language, it was kind of like i'm an alpha dog, too. right he? wanted to kind of alpha dog one up trump. and that's just not going to happen. this is like historic week and there is no way you are going to outdo trump. no way. not happening. >> in, no. not going to work, gavin. i mean, look, this is -- this is what trump does best. he does this, you know, the irony of this whole situation by the way is remember when the media was telling us one of the biggest reasons we needed to elect joe biden because of his empathy? look at this scene that's happening in north carolina and in california today. it's just a reminder that this is a president who cares deeply about the american people and wants to meet them where they are. and that's something that i think, you know, can he do with the energy that is required of the commander-in-chief. and that's a very good thing for

the country. >> laura: well, and i remember, ben, and we are watching live video of the president. he is about b. to sit down for this briefing karen bass and other city officials are in this makeshift room and we are going to dip into it as the president sits down. [chanting u.s.a.] >> karen bass is sitting next to him and melania is behind him. he was greeted with a lot of applause, ben very warm reception and stlis and they are chanting u.s.a. u.s.a. this is what america wants to see in a time of crisis. i think gavin newsom was saying don't play politics, mr. president, let's work together and i think president trump just wants to see california actually reform itself so it doesn't happen again. >> look, i think one of the most interesting things to come out of the -- obviously we have been dealing with deluge of information from him ever since

he, you know, accepted and was sworn in as president. but, one of the things that i thought was really interesting was him bringing up, especially that victory rally, the issue of rebuilding los angeles. saying that we're not going to just let this fester. we are not going to abandon a great american city to the ms. management of democratic politicians. instead he said we are going to rebuild it. we are going to build it in a way that is going to make it something that is great for the olympics. that is great for the world cup, et cetera. >> i think that's another sign of the approach that he has when disasters strike which is to say we're going go back in there and we're going to roll up our sleeves and get the job done. and that's something that i think is really encouraging and should be encouraging even for california's who don't like the president. even for californians who voted for kamala harris. that he is someone who is dedicated to rebuilding los angeles and not just letting it die on the vine. >> i think this is what we

remind people about to dip into this. donald trump knows how to work with democrats. he did it his whole life. and he is seated and i think are we going to dip into this, guys? thank you very much, everybody. this is an honor to be with you. unfortunately it's a very sad period what makes you feel good i met so many of the homeowners and every one of them and a lot of them and every one of them said to me they want to rebuild. i said will you go elsewhere? no, no, no, no. it wasn't even like a question. they love the area. they love the people. it's like a family. it's incredible, actually, when you see some things like that. we just left north carolina and we had just a similar type of disaster. it was water instead of fire but boy that water did damage like i have never seen before. and then you come here and then you see this. but the people are so amazing. and your fire department was so

beautiful. everyone in perfect physical shep. what do you guys do? they have very high standards. i can tell you. we took pictures with all of them but very nicely they gave us a little helmet and i said are you really -- you wear, this huh? is this real? and they said yeah, i said it's awfully heavy you have to be very strong to wear that but that's the original, right? so, pretty good. but i just want to thank everybody. we're going to be with you. your governor met us at the plane. we had a good talk, very positive talk. we have to work together to get this really worked out. i don't think he can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is until you see it. i didn't realize. i mean, i saw a lot of bad things on television. but the extent of it, the size of it, we flew over it. in a helicopter. we flew a few of the areas and it was devastation. it's incredible.

really an incineration. even some of the chimneys came down, okay? when you have the chimneys come down you know it's hot stuff. and a lot of them were down. that was a bad sign, too. but i just want to commiserate and we're going to celebrate. we will be back to celebrate one day soon, i hope soon the federal government standing behind you, 100 percent. the first lady and i are in california to express a great love for the people of california. we have had -- i have had great support always in california. we did very well recently as you know relatively speaking at least i can say. and it's been amazing. i have property in california. not to far away, actually. right up the road is a big property. i have always loved it. i have always loved being here. but we have to grieve for the 28 californians who have tragically

perished and sadly you are going to be finding more. and that's going to be very sad because i know people are missing. when you look at that kind of incineration. you know it's going to happen, you are going to find some more with all that we have gone through, i have watched your firefighters they are were fighting at a big disadvantage. i got to know at love them just now incredible people. they were so happy. they were saying congratulations, sir, they are thinking about country maybe even before this location that they all love i'm pleased to be joined by many of the great californian leaders both democrat and republican and it's an honor to meet some you have i didn't know. i know you by name. l.a. supervisor catherine barger. thank you, catherine very much. mayor karen bass. thank you, karen.

it's nice to meet you. representatives jay, where is jay? hi, jay. it's been a tough period, jay, right? vince song, kevin kylie, vince and kevin. hi. hi, vince a man i know very well, i know him too well, actually. and i say that actually with love because he is a great -- he has actually been a great congressman for a long time and he is a great leader and he loves the area as much as anybody, right, darryl? darrell issa. young kim, congratulations on an excellent career. i appreciate it another one i know pretty well to put it mildly is tom mcclintock. and he has been with us for a long time. we have some interesting things going on in washington and it's an honor that you guys are here. thank you, darryl, very much,

tom. george whitessides. good george, thanks. great name, too by the way. brad sherman, oh i know brad well. i know brad but that's all right. woo we're on the same side of this one, we will work together, bret, very well. a lot of respect. and presidential envoy ric grenell who has done a fantastic job for me over the years he was ambassador to germany and he was fantastic so two and a half weeks ago over 100 mile-per-hour winds transformed the palisades fire and other areas, too into absolute infernos of death and destruction and this is already the most expensive natural disaster they say in american history. that's pretty amazing. the numbers are going to be staggering. most importantly we have to get it built and hopefully find as few people as possible.

we have already too many too many. 28 at least they say. we're going to work very hard with the mayor, the governor, the supervisor and everybody. and get the resources behind you. we have some amazing people and we have some amazing fighters for things like this. i also had the concept best developers in the country. i had so many calls from developers and they want to come in. they don't want anything. they want to come in and help and they really know how to get things done and get things built. i would ask that the local officials, because we're going to wave just about essentially wave all federal permits have you go very quickly federal permit take 10 years. we don't want to take 10 days. [applause]

so we're declaring this a national emergency by doing that i can give you immediate like immediate permits. i would ask that the local permitting process be the same 18 months for permits and i don't think you are going to do it. i can't imagine that. position like to start tonight. they will clean their site. they will do everything. they just want to start and they were very concerned with the 18 months get it down to i would say not 18 days. mayor, they are yesterday to start. i met so many of them nice and cool and they want to start taking the debris. they want to take the debris. they want to do everything, get rid of everything. do did by their own hand.

waving the federal permits. either wave them or give them so rapidly. essentially the same thing. try to just wave them and rely on the local. but the local i hope is going to do the same exact thing. can do almost the same thing or the same thing would be great for building permit you will have to check things out a little bit. a lot of them, every single one of themed said they are going to rebuild. i didn't have one person say they are selling or they are leaving or they are disgusted it's incredible. had one had one -- right? you want to stand up. it was so nice the way you -- she greeted -- she greeted my wife in a very different -- in a very different language, right? and was very nice to see. and you're staying and you are going to rebuild and everything. everybody, everybody. so it's really good.

so i'm signing an executive order to open up the pumps and valves in the north. we want to get that water pouring down here as quickly as possible. let hundreds of millions of 2k3w58 loans of water flow down into southern california. and it will be a big benefit to you if you don't want it you will tell me. i can't imagine it. i will tell you who does like it is the fire department. when i said that they were happy with that they didn't mind hearing that but we have a lot of water that is available. and i hope can you work that out among yourselves. but, i think this will show that we have to have that water. we have to have that water. you are talking about unlimited water coming up from the pacific northwest. even coming up from parts of canada. and it pours down naturally, it has for a million years. for a million years it pours down. you will never run out. you will never have shortages.

and you won't have things like this. and when you do, you will have a lot of water to put it out. so i'm going to ask that you figure that out. but, i am -- i really strongly recommended this seven years ago. and i think i'm going to just do it if you have big problems you are going to let me know. i just can't even imagine it. we are also surging federal resources and assistance to the state. california must adopt a common sense policies to prevent fires and we all know that we were talking seven or eight years ago i was talking to people from austria, people from finland, people that live in forests. one of the gentlemen the top -- one of the great leaders of austria said we don't have forest fires. we have trees that are actually far more flammable than they have in california. but they literally rake their forest. they take down -- if a tree

comments down, they take it down. they say you have 18 months, after that it's like a match stick. and i know environmentally some environmental groups like the trees to just melt into the ground but when they do melt into the ground, they become an inferno. so i think you are going to have to change your ways in terms of that you have 30 years of leaves and leaves are dry as a bone and they you know interestingly, because i was at paradise, who is the general -- right, a long time ago, i was at paradise, what a beautiful paradise it was. and how is it doing by the way? they are rebuilding, right. he said you were here president. you know what amazed me, i will never forget it, the trees were okay. because the trees are loaded with water. they suck the water out of the ground and this was an inferno, no different than this, and it was also the wind that caused a lot of problems.

you had tremendous winds. there is not that you are going to do with that, up to 100 miles per hour winds. it is unheard of. when i was in paradise, i noticed that the trees were dark on the bottom but they were living and they lived because they were soaking wet but the trees that were on the ground within 12 to 18 months -- they say 18 months at a maximum, you have to cut them up and take them away because they are match sticks. you saw that with me. i said, the house has burned down and the tree is standing. and other than being a different colour on the bottom and it went through an inferno. it is called management of the floor. and when the gentleman from austria and finland and other countries -- they said we manage the forest floor carefully. and we don't have forest fires. they just don't have them. so i am sure you are going to do the same thing.

so there can be no golden age without the golden state. it is a great state. it is a fantastic place. and we are going to have -- we are going to have a big celebration soon. we are going to come back and come back as much as you need. and we are going to turn it around and we are going to open the coffers. america wants this taken care of. this was a horrible thing to watch and the way it kept going and going. and they would find another area. it was like genius on the other side, the fire was a genius, the way it kept moving. but we are not going to stand for it. i just met with the olympic people, and they are all set to do a real job. so we have the olympics, and i got them. it was very interesting, i made the deal with the olympics. i was called -- [ ♪♪ ] >> jesse: fox news alert. president trump speaking at a fire station in la. let's listen in. >> tas