Another celebrity is joining the growing list of those calling out California Governor Gavin Newsom’s alleged “mismanagement” of priorities as the Los Angeles area continues to burn and its residents mourn.
O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary didn’t mince words on “Varney & Co.” Friday when he compared the governor to recently-resigned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“It’s tragic what happened here. Gross mismanagement,” he said. “Gavin Newsom is a terrible manager. He is the Justin Trudeau of California. He’s horrific.”
“People should want to make a change and hire somebody else,” O’Leary added. “But I think it goes the other way. I think they’re so tired of the rhetoric and the policy and the taxes and the mismanagement.”
Multiple wildfires in Southern California, including the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Kenneth Fire, Hurst Fire and Lidia Fire, have left 10 dead and ravaged more than 27,000 acres. As of Friday morning, more than 10,000 homes and buildings have been lost.
Gov. Newsom has deflected any blame in the state’s preparedness for tragic consequences resulting from natural disasters and fired back at President-elect Donald Trump, who accused Newsom of not “[doing] a good job.”
“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. “This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts, and I know what I want to say – I won‘t.”
The downfall of Los Angeles and the Golden State began long before the tragic wildfires, according to O’Leary.
“We started talking about this with San Francisco, which is a war zone. And now L.A., before this, was riddled with crime, people walking in and out of stores, just stealing stuff. You’ve documented that forever,” he said. “It is time for change.”
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“Mr. Wonderful” also reacted to the viral video of a distraught California mother confronting Newsom in the street, demanding answers about why fire hydrants ran empty and what he was going to do to fix communities that have been reduced to ash.
“It’s all over the internet now: ‘Where is the water pressure in my fire hydrant?’ to Gavin Newsom. He says, ‘Ah it’s a local thing.’ You can’t say that when you’re a politician. You have to own the problem. He doesn’t even understand that. Time for him to get removed from office immediately.”
Fox News’ Alexandra Koch and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.