By Samuel Short February 20, 2025 at 10:35am
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is desperately trying to deflect any blame for the devastating wildfires that destroyed her city.
Bass sat down with KTTV anchor Elex Michaelson in a clip posted to social media platform X on Wednesday where she spoke about the situation surrounding those wildfires and her actions during that time, specifically answering for why she was in Ghana during the initial outbreak.
NEW: LA Mayor Karen Bass says she’s investigating why she was allowed to go on a trip to Ghana days before the LA fires.
Investigating someone else for something you did is wild.
Bass: That level of preparation really didn’t happen. So it didn’t reach that level to me. No one… pic.twitter.com/k7DtUqIRJy
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 19, 2025
“I’m curious on the thought process behind [the trip to Ghana]. Because we know that there was warnings about the weather before you went, and you still went. What was the thought process behind going to Ghana?” Michaelson asked.
First the mayor gave some context for the trip: Bass had been asked on behalf of former President Joe Biden to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Mahama.
Choosing to leave, she was absent from Los Angeles in those critical early days as the fires spread and the city needed leadership.
After explaining that the trip was going to be short — four days in total — Bass confusingly told Michaelson, “We need to look at everything about the preparation and all of that for the fires because, I think, when we evaluate that, we will find that although there were warnings — that I frankly wasn’t aware of — although there were warnings, I think our preparation, it wasn’t what it typically is.”
Bass continued on, trying to say in so many words that preparation was lacking, prompting Michaelson to offer some light pushback, prompting Bass double down.
Should Karen Bass be removed from office?
After saying preparation was lacking and nobody communicated to Bass the true threat of the wildfires, she indicated this was the real failure that let her leave the country.
“That level of preparation really didn’t happen. So, it didn’t reach that level to me to say, ‘Something terrible can happen, and maybe you shouldn’t have gone on the trip,” she told him.
“I think that’s one of the things we need to look at,” she told him.
That’s right, Bass said somebody needs to look at why she was not aware she shouldn’t leave her city.
The entire clip is both sad and hilarious.
It is sad in that California’s elected officials aren’t just incompetent at the highest level — Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom comes to mind — but at the city level, as well. Bass did say the trip was a “mistake” and that she felt “absolutely terrible,” but she could not bring herself to say that the decision was hers and she is to blame.
Her remark itself is hilarious and leaves anyone who is not one of her constituents rolling with laughter. In answering Michaelson’s question, Bass pulled out the public officials’ handbook and gave him the most clichéd response imaginable: “We need to look into that.”
Granted, Bass could be right. Failures could have occurred at the lower level.
A lack of communication could have led to her departure when the city needed her.
But great leaders don’t blame others; they take responsibility. They give all the credit to their team when they triumph and take the blame alone when they fail, promising to do better.
Californians have Bass, but they need someone with leadership and accountability.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London.
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