Trump, Newsom enjoy friendly greeting, suggest they can work together

President Trump greeted California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) with a very friendly exchange when he landed in the Los Angeles area to survey wildfire damage, after the two have sparred over relief efforts in recent weeks.

Trump walked off Air Force One and when Newsom met him on the tarmac, the two political rivals shook hands. They walked over to the press and the president said he appreciated that Newsom greeted him in his state.

“We appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me very much, and we'll be talking,” Trump said. “We want to get it fixed. We want to get the problem fixed. And there'll be some work, but it's like you got hit by a bomb.”

Newsom added, “We’re going to need your support. … We’re going to need your help.”

Trump also told reporters that he thinks he will be able to work with Newsom.

“We’re looking to get something completed, and the way you get it completed is to work together with the governor of the state, and we're going to get it completed,” Trump said.

After the greeting, Trump and first lady Melania Trump went on Marine One to tour wildfire damage. The Trumps later walked on Fiske Steet in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, talking with police officers and greeting residents.

“We won't let you down,” Trump said to firefighters.

The governor had said he would be on the tarmac to greet Trump and thank him for the visit after Trump on Wednesday told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he hadn’t thought about whether he would meet one-on-one with Newsom.

Trump and Newsom have traded barbs over wildfire response. Despite the back-and-forth, Newsom invited Trump to visit the state and urged him not to “politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines.”

The president also told Fox News, “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down into their system,” repeating claims that that state could better combat its fires in Los Angeles if it directed water from the northern part of the state to its southern part.

Trump traveled to the Los Angeles area after visiting Asheville, N.C., following Hurricane Helene, which hit the area in September. He was greeted by North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, when he landed.

Updated at 7:43 p.m. EST.

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