Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass seemingly edited press conference livestreams shared on her Facebook page to remove portions of Q&A sessions where reporters asked her tough questions about the city’s wildfire response.
The mayor has come under intense backlash for her overall handling of the wildfires in early January that burned over 57,000 acres and killed 29 people. Bass’ own Facebook account appears to have edited out clips showing reporters’ hard-hitting questions about the city’s response to the destructive fires, which could be found on the County of Los Angeles’ account.
During a Jan. 9 press conference, a reporter can be heard asking Bass about her response to those calling on her to step down on a video posted to the County of Los Angeles’ Facebook account. On the video shared to the mayor’s Facebook page, that exchange is not included.
READ: New Poll Shows Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Deeply Unpopular With -73.3% Net Favorability
“And let me just say, because I’ve answered some questions like that in the morning and let me just state now. Number one, these fires are burning now. Our job is to make sure that people stay alive, that we save lives, that we save homes, that we save property and I also said when the fires are out, we will do a deep dive. We will look at what worked, we will look at what didn’t work and we will let you know. Until then, my focus is on the TV screens behind you that are showing devastation that has continued. Thank you, answered it in the morning, answered it now, won’t answer it again,” Bass said in the County of Los Angeles’ livestream.
Bass’ Facebook page cut out the Q&A period almost entirely, focusing solely on several politicians and Los Angeles officials giving statements on the fires. At the end of the video, a reporter can be heard asking the mayor about ways to combat the fires, though his question got cut off from the livestream before Bass began to answer.
The Q&A portions of press conferences held on Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 were also removed from the videos uploaded to Bass’ account.
READ: DeSantis Unleashes Florida DOGE: Slashing Waste, Supercharging Government Efficiency
The full Q&A sessions from the press conferences can be found in the videos uploaded to the county’s Facebook page. During the Jan. 8 press conference, Bass received questions regarding the lack of water present in the fire hydrants, her travel to Africa and resources available to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).
The Los Angeles mayor came under scrutiny for traveling internationally to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama as the fires raged across her city. She refused to answer questions on whether she owed her constituents an apology after being pressed by Sky News reporter David Blevins.
During her mayoral campaign, Bass insisted in an interview with The New York Times that she would not travel abroad while in office. She later told Fox 11’s Elex Michaelson during an interview released Tuesday that her trip, along with all aspects of responding to the fires, are being internally and externally investigated.
Bass received a few questions about the flawed alert systems and about earning back the trust of the American people. The reporters’ confronted the mayor over the widespread panic that spread throughout Los Angeles as millions of residents received false alarms ordering them to evacuate their homes.
“What are you doing at this point to earn back people’s trust and to make sure these mistakes don’t happen again?” a CBS News reporter asked.
“Well first of all I think these questions were addressed … so let me just be clear, I’m gonna spend every moment that I can making sure that I am in as many areas as possible, meeting and talking to residents to see what is needed in the recovery,” Bass said, according to the county’s video. “But I also want to mention that we are moving into recovery mode at the same time, meaning that we want to see the city rebuilt, we want to see Los Angeles come together.”
Bass’ account posted the Q&A section of her Friday news conference where she addressed the firing of former Fire Chief Kristen Crowley, who became increasingly unpopular for her handling of the wildfires. The former chief staunchly supported diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and an internal “racial equity plan,” which states that the agency is a stronger organization for focusing on the physical characteristics of its personnel.
Several fire hydrants ran dry as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and fire department officials attempted to combat the flames that destroyed thousands of homes, neighborhoods and communities in the area. An analysis from OpenTheBooks, a government transparency organization, found that Los Angeles lacked the budget to sufficiently fund fire hydrants across the area despite LADWP officials receiving substantial taxpayer-funded salaries.
READ: Trump To Appoint Kash Patel To Lead ATF, Signaling Shift In Agency Focus
Bass’ approval ratings have declined significantly since the wildfires, with 43% of likely voters stating that they would consider voting for a Republican, according to a Madison McQueen poll from Jan. 27. The survey found that 37% of respondents approved of Bass’ handling of the wildfires, while 54% of Los Angelenos expressed disapproval.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is currently asking the federal government to approve nearly $40 billion in aid to help recover Los Angeles from the devastation of the fires. While former President Joe Biden was still in office, Newsom asked the then-president to handle so-called “misinformation” about his state’s response to the wildfires as Californians were left homeless.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.