President-elect Trump, Gov. Youngkin discuss drone response, California wildfires at Mar-a-Lago dinner
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin made his way from a funeral in D.C. honoring the life of former President Jimmy Carter to Palm Beach, Florida, where GOP leaders huddled with President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20.
Republican governors from 22 of the 27 states that have GOP executives gathered Thursday for a news conference and meeting with Trump, after what some called a “long period” without cooperation from the federal government.
“I know for Montana we’ve wrestled with overreach from the EPA, problems with other agencies — whether its interior, with public lands — but I know each governor that’s standing up here has expressed frustration,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte told reporters.
The news conference happened amid a roaring deadly blaze in and around Los Angeles and Trump’s calls for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to resign.
Youngkin was asked if he thought Trump’s comments were doing more harm than good for the devastated communities in and around the wildfire. The governor responded by outlining the responsibilities leaders have to keep their state safe.
“One of the things we talk about as governors all the time is preparing and responding and then recovering after a natural disaster. What’s been happening in Los Angeles is horrific,” Youngkin said.
The head of the commonwealth said his heart is with the communities most harmed by the ongoing fires, but there needs to be some collective action to address these problems.
“What’s happening in California right now is absolutely heart-wrenching and horrific and I think we’re going to need help from the entire country in order for them to recover,” he said.
Sitting to Trump’s right during the dinner at Mar-a-Lago, the group fielded questions from reporters on reports of drones flying around parts of Virginia and New Jersey, among other states.
“I’m going to give you a report on drones about one day into the administration because I think it’s ridiculous that they’re not telling you about what’s going on with the drones,” Trump said. “And it’s not only with me. Glenn was telling me today that in Virginia they have drones all over the place too and nobody’s reporting it. I don’t know why they’re not.”
Reports of drones in the D.C. metro area spiked in mid-November and continued through the beginning of January.
Youngkin said these sightings were especially concerning in his state, which is home to the largest naval base in the world — Marine Corps Base Quantico — and the state’s national security infrastructure.
“And now for two years running we’ve had drone incursion over secure airspace,” Youngkin said, “and we still don’t know why. And I think that’s absolutely unacceptable.”
Youngkin signaled faith in the incoming administration’s response to these aerial phenomena.
“I think President Trump and the new leadership coming in — I think will work diligently to understand who’s behind this and what we do in order to stop the digital surveillance of all our secure infrastructure,” Youngkin said.