Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., scolded President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday and said he hoped Trump viewed everyone the same amid the devastating California wildfires.
"These fires obviously are impacting everyone, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, independent, doesn't matter. All of us are in this together and one of the things that has been just so apparent and talking to people who have lost their homes is, not only did they lose their home, they lost their whole neighborhood," Schiff told MSNBC's Joy Reid.
Los Angeles has been devastated by several wildfires in the last few days. The Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire, the Hurst Fire, the Lidia Fire and the Sunset Fire are all raging in Los Angeles County as of early Thursday, according to Cal Fire.
"But I shudder to think what will happen if we don't have a president that views us all as Americans, not some to be punished and others to be rewarded in natural disasters. We just never had a president like that. We had it once. We are having it again. But I would hope that the incoming president realizes that this affects his supporters as well as anyone else. We are all equally devastated by this and the federal government is going to need help," Schiff said.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE
Schiff also said the mayor of Pasadena revealed a lot of residents affected by the Eaton fire had trouble insuring their homes.
"So they may be left with nothing and so there are going to be a lot of people who are going to need help. They’re going to need help from a Democrat president, or a Republican president. I know Sen. Padilla and I are determined to do everything we can to make sure they get the resources they need – Governor Newsom, the same. We’re committed to all our constituents, regardless of party," Schiff said.
Trump called out California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a post to social media, saying the governor was partly to blame for the apocalyptic wildfires.
"Governor Gavin Newscum [sic] refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way," Trump posted.
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A spokesperson for Newsom said the declaration was "pure fiction" and said the governor wasn't interested in playing politics.
"One can't even respond to it. I mean… you know, people are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn apart. Churches burned down," Newsom told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday. "This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts, and I know what I want to say – I won‘t."
Newsom said late Wednesday that 7,500 firefighters were out battling the wildfires.
Newsom added that the deployment includes more than 1,100 fire engines, 31 helicopters and 53 bulldozers.
Fox News Greg Norman contributed to this report.
