CARLSBAD, Calif. — President Trump is set to conclude the first regular work week of his second term by coming here to survey the devastation of the Southern California’s wildfires.

That’s the kind of things presidents do. But nothing about the last five days, from Trump’s swearing-in to the break-neck speed in which he moved to transform the nation’s political landscape, could honestly be described as regular. Now his willingness to trudge directly into the heart of the resistance to see the torched remains of Palisades and Malibu for himself seems a fitting coda to one of the boldest launches of a president’s second term in history.

And in a week consumed by political theater, Trump managed to generate even more drama by leaving California Gov. Gavin Newsom guessing as to whether the two will share the spotlight during his visit, considering their most recent war of words over water and wildfires – not to mention their increasingly spirited rivalry.

Last Sunday, when Trump announced plans to come here and “to see it and get it moving back,” it seemed like the two leaders might put aside their petty grievances and pot shots to focus on a joint federal-state rebuilding plan to deal with an ordeal that has claimed 28 lives and some 16,000 buildings – and is not yet over.

Instead, it’s uncertain whether Trump will greet the governor when he touches down in Los Angeles or ignore him altogether. And while new fires continue to ignite across California’s Southland, the region is now only one of several stops Trump plans to make Friday, between visits to hurricane-ravaged North Carolina and a touchdown in Nevada to thank voters for his victory there.

Newsom, who is widely considered a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has complained publicly over the insinuation by Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson that relief for California would come with undefined strings attached.

But the governor has offered an olive branch of sorts, pledging to approach their new relationship with an “open hand, not a closed fist” while continuing to hold a special state........

© RealClearPolitics