LA absentee Mayor Karen Bass promised before being elected to not go abroad - then was caught in Ghana when fires erupted

LA Mayor Karen Bass promised voters before being elected that she would 
not travel abroad — only to be caught gallivanting around Ghana when the 
worst wildfires in the city’s history broke out last week.

Just a year before she took office, Bass pledged to the New York Times 
that if elected, “Not only would I of course live here [in Los Angeles], 
but I also would not travel internationally — the only places I would go 
would be DC, Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to LA.”

The former congresswoman was addressing questions about her previous 
globe-trotting as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the 
time.

But Bass has since broken that promise at least five times this year 
alone, including when critics say she skirted her duties back home by 
recently traveling to Africa for Ghana’s presidential inauguration — as 
LA’s devastating wildfires broke out.

Bass went to Africa to ring in the inauguration of Ghana’s 14th president, 
John Dramani Mahama, four days before the wildfires began Tuesday. Before 
that while mayor, she had gone to Mexico for the inauguration of President 
Claudia Sheinbaum and three times to France for the 2024 Olympic Games in 
Paris, the Times said.

Rivals and constituents across the aisle have levied heavy criticisms 
against the mayor for going abroad.

Even liberal Los Angelenos have been outraged at their Democratic mayor as 
they grapple with the deadly devastating blazes that have killed at last 
16 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, with some of 
hte fires still burning out of control.

Conservatives are calling for her resignation alongside California Gov. 
Gavin Newsom.

Firefighters who endorsed her opponent Rick Caruso during the 2022 mayoral 
race have accused Bass of cutting their budget, hampering their blaze-
fighting efforts. Even the city’s fire chief told a reporter last week 
that she believed the Los Angeles Fire Department had been failed by the 
city’s leaders.

“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded. It’s not,” 
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox 11.

As the fires continue to rage, many are questioning how Bass will be able 
to effectively serve in her position going forward after losing the 
people’s trust.

“I think being out of state and not at her post when the crisis broke out 
is fairly devastating for her,” Rob Stutzman, a Republican political 
consultant who was an aide to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, told the 
Times.

“This is the biggest disaster in Los Angeles since the Watts riots. You 
have one job as mayor. It’s to be here and be leading. This wasn’t 
unpredictable, like an earthquake,”

Since her return to the states Wednesday, Bass has continuously pushed her 
constituents to “reject those who seek to divide us.” She even made 
another promise: to have “a full accounting of what worked and, 
especially, what did not” once the fires are extinguished.

Bass claimed that she was continuously in contact with people in the 
states “almost every hour of the flight” while she was en route back from 
Ghana. She went to the Pacific Palisades fire-ravaged region as soon as 
she landed, she said.

Conversation

Sue Paolo
6 hours ago

It doesn't matter what Bass did, didn't do, will do. Progressive left 
ideas are too imbedded in the people of California and she (along with the 
other Dems currently in office) will be reelected. Unfortunately the tax 
payers in other states will have to put up their money to bail them out, 
and that is infuriating.

CoachSmith
4 hours ago

Three times she went to Paris...for the 2024 Olympics?  THREE?  There and 
back...there and back...there and back...all on taxpayer's dime...

Brooklyn Kidd
3 hours ago

But isn’t this what California voters voted for?  Hopefully the voters 
will realize in future elections that Democrats are synonymous with liars.

olderthandirt
5 hours ago

We have seen the danger in bending all values and honesty to create good 
optics for the DEI crowd.

On the other hand, I have watched this particular demographic refuse to 
abide by the general understanding of decent law abiding behavior. 
Basically, making up their own rules regardless of who is damaged - and 
nary a squeak from the others in the group..

https://nypost.com/2025/01/12/us-news/la-mayor-karen-bass-promised-before-
being-elected-to-not-go-abroad-then-was-caught-in-ghana-when-fires-
erupted/