Legendary actor Mel Gibson showed his support in the effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom after the horrific Los Angeles wildfires.

Gibson, recently named one of President Trump’s special ambassadors to Hollywood, spoke at a news conference held by Saving California.

According to KTLA, Saving California is the group behind the latest effort to recall the Democratic governor.

“We deserve much more and much better, and there is absolutely no adequate excuse the governor or mayor can make for this gross mismanagement and failure to preemptively deal with what they knew was coming,” Gibson said, according to the outlet.

Per KTLA:

Twenty-nine people were killed in the Palisades and Eaton fires, which combined to burn over 37,000 acres and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.

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Newsom has said that the L.A. wildfires, which broke out on Jan. 7 amid the strongest Santa Ana winds in years, could be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

Gibson lost his home in the Palisades Fire and blames Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass along with Newsom for letting the wildfires explode in size, causing widespread devastation.

“Was it incompetence? Was it indifference, complacency, carelessness? Was it negligence? Absolutely,” Gibson said.

Gibson went on to add that a federal investigation should come with any federal aid for California.

Some of those in attendance called for Gibson to run for governor.

“There are many who say it is criminal negligence. Do the mayor and the governor give a d*** about you? H*** no!” Gibson added, according to the New York Post. 

WATCH:

From the New York Post:

This week, SavingCalifornia.vote received the official green light to begin circulating a petition to hold a recall election. They will have 160 days to gather around 15 million signatures — 12% of the total votes in the last gubernatorial election — to win a recall vote.

The governor — who asked the federal government for $40 billion in recovery aid — responded to the challenge with some passion of his own.

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“This time they’ve sunk to a new low — exploiting the victims of the LA fires for political gain,” Newsom’s office said in an official response to the recall effort.

“Here’s the worst part: Their partisan recall will waste 200 million taxpayer dollars desperately needed for emergency preparedness and response,” the statement added.

“What’s the point of asking taxpayers to foot the bill for an election to replace Newsom with a lame-duck governor for a year?” asked The San Francisco Chronicle’s Joe Garolfoli in a piece titled “The latest Gavin Newsom recall attempt is the most pointless yet.”

But even before the fires had reduced the Pacific Palisades and other neighborhoods to a Mad Max-style wasteland, many voters were already blaming Newsom for the state’s rampant homelessness, the fentanyl crisis, and skyrocketing housing prices — all of which could prove to be lethal weapons against the governor in his final term.

 

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