President Donald Trump uncorked a bizarre meltdown on his Truth Social platform Tuesday over California Gov. Gavin Newsom's plans to bring affordable housing to the affluent Pacific Palisades following devastating wildfires earlier this year.
Residents in the LA neighborhood have pushed back on Newsom's move amid a wave of conspiracy theories over affordable housing, and the plans appeared to be paused, according to recent reports.
But on Tuesday, Trump aimed squarely at the proposal — and warned Newsom is close to moving ahead with them.
"Shockingly, I have just learned, that Gavin Newscum, the Governor of California, is in final stages of approval to build Low Income Housing in Pacific Palisades," Trump wrote. "How unfair is that to the people that have suffered so much! Newscum allowed their houses to burn by not accepting Hundreds of Millions of Gallons of Water from the Pacific Northwest, and now, the Low Income Housing starts rising long before he gets Permits for California Citizens to rebuild, but long after the Federal Permits were issued."
Trump also tried to draw a confusing parallel between former New York City Mayor John Lindsay (who died in 2000) and Newsom's efforts to bring affordable housing to the neighborhood and greater Los Angeles County, which has an ongoing housing crisis amid a costly market and less inventory following the fires.
"Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator, and I, as President, have done the job, and produced all Permits long before anybody expected that to happen," Trump wrote. "Unfortunately, the Governor of California and Mayor Karen Bass failed you. Gavin Newscum’s plan to build Low Income Housing (at the Super Luxury Pacific Palisades Fire Site) is what caused the destruction of the Late, Great New York City Mayor John Lindsay’s Political Career — and John Lindsay was a Republican."
It's unclear what Trump is referring to or comparing in his mention of Lindsay's efforts during his two terms serving New York City residents (1966 to 1973) and the sprawling Los Angeles area in the year 2025.
In July, Newsom committed $101 million "to help rapidly rebuild critically needed, affordable multifamily rental housing in the fire-devastated Los Angeles region," following the devastating fires that displaced thousands across.
“Los Angeles has taken significant steps to rebuild after January’s fires, but the devastation is significant and there remains a long road ahead. Thousands of families – from Pacific Palisades to Altadena to Malibu – are still displaced and we owe it to them to help. The funding we’re announcing today will accelerate the development of affordable multifamily rental housing so that those rebuilding their lives after this tragedy have access to a safe, affordable place to come home to,” Newsom said in a statement.
Newsom's call for affordable housing has prompted some conflict among residents in Pacific Palisades, who pushed back on Senate Bill 549, which was introduced in July by Democratic California Sen. Ben Allen, who represents the area, and later paused the bill after reality TV villain Spencer Pratt used his TikTok following to decry the move. Allen later said the bill was paused and cited community opposition, Politico reports.