Bill Maher trashes Karen Bass, California officials over failed response to LA fires: Fiddling in Ghana while the city burned

HBO host Bill Maher trashed the local government for how officials are handling the wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles in the closing monologue of his show on Friday.The “Real Time” host slammed local officials for not being prepared and prioritizing DEI initiatives over competent fire response.He also savaged the city’s Democratic mayor, Karen Bass, for being out of the country when the blazes began in LA County.“L.A.’s mayor, Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned,” Maher said.Maher went after the government for not having the resources to fight the fires, sharing an article from Axios about how complicated it was to get water out of fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in L.A.

particularly ravaged by the inferno.The host saw this as a weak excuse, stating, “I’m sure it is.I’m sure it’s very complicated.

That’s why I pay 13 percent of my income in the state every year to people who I assume were working on things like this.”Maher ripped Bass’ excuse for being unprepared.He quoted her saying the fires were so bad because of “eight months of negligible rain and winds that have not been seen in L.A.

in at least 14 years.”The host ridiculed the line, saying, “Yeah, that’s not that long a time.Maybe look in the history books to see how our ancestors handled it back in 2011.”He also hammered Bass for cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Bass cut $17 million from the LAFD’s budget, having originally wanted to cut $23 million.As Maher noted, Bass insisted that the cuts didn’t affect the city’s preparedness.In response, he brought up LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley’s “slightly different take.”“She said, ‘We are screaming to be properly funded,’” the host said, adding, “And yes, the budget was cut, and it did impact our ability to provide service.”He then mocked the city for appearing to prioritize DEI initiati...