Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, nearly went into silence when asked by a reporter to comment on the incompetent handling of the wildfires that ravaged the city during an unprecedented windstorm.

Breitbart reported Wednesday that Mayor Karen Bass was in Ghana, Africa, at the time the wildfires broke out, despite the fact that she had over 24 hours notice of what experts said would be the worst winds to hit Los Angeles since 2011. A windstorm which erupted into a firestorm unprecedented.

'Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent whilst their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire department's budget?
@skydavidblevins questions the mayor of LA, Karen Bass, as she faces backlash regarding the California wildfires.https://t.co/Nkz8onjC7V pic.twitter.com/WwRwp6Imqz

— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 8, 2025

Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, spent Tuesday in Africa. She was part of a taxpayer funded delegation that attended John Dramani Mahama’s inauguration as Ghanaian president. The Democrat was in Africa as thousands of residents fled their homes and her city was ravaged by wildfires.

CNS News reported that Shalanda Young, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led the delegation to Accra. Ghana’s capital.

Virginia E. Palmer and Frances Z. Z. were also part of the group. Bass and Brown, the National Security Council senior director for African issues and special assistant to President Brown.

According to reports, Mayor Karen Bass also cut the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget by nearly $20 million.

Elizabeth MacDonald, Fox Business reporter:

According to a check on the budget of Los Angeles, Democrat Mayor Karen Bass has cut around $20 million in fire services budgets for this fiscal year. She had also demanded higher cuts. As massive wildfires ravage Los Angeles, at least 80K people have been forced to evacuate and reports indicate that the LA Fire Department is running low on water.

Mayor Bass proposed to cut about $23million from the LA Fire Department. Mayor Bass is on a Biden-led delegation to Ghana while local LA residents are urging her to resign. The LA Fire Department was cut by $13 million for operating supplies and salaries.

Bass remained silent and stone-faced for almost two minutes when a Sky News reporter asked her about her reaction to the fire on Wednesday.

Online, the moment was swiftly condemned.