OAN Staff Abril Elfi
11:52 AM – Monday, January 13, 2025
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass previously told The New York Times outlet that she wouldn’t travel internationally if elected as the city’s mayor, despite last week’s discovery that she traveled to Ghana for an event while emergency alerts warned about incoming strong winds that could prompt fires.
On Sunday, the outlet reported that in 2021, Bass had stated that if she won the mayoral election, then “not only would I of course live here, but I also would not travel internationally — the only places I would go would be D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to L.A.”
However, Bass is still facing immense backlash from residents of Los Angeles after it was discovered that she had been traveling in Ghana, in order to attend a presidential delegation, as the deadly wildfires in her city spread.
Upon Bass’ return, she also completely ignored reporters’ questions regarding her absence in the midst of the tragic unfolding of events.
“Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? And do you regret cutting the Fire Department budget by millions of dollars, Madame Mayor?” Sky News reporter David Blevins asked as Bass waited to deplane on Wednesday following her trip to Ghana.
“Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today?” he added.
Bass refused to acknowledge the reporter and ignored questions as she looked towards the ground.
“No apology to them? Do you think you should have been visiting Ghana while this was unfolding back home?” he said.
“The Mayor is laser focused on two things right now – keeping Angelenos safe and protecting property. She has secured the federal, state and local resources we need to continue fighting these fires and is moving forward on an all-of-the-above plan for recovery,” Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
Later, during a news conference on Wednesday, Bass told reporters that she was communicating with certain individuals during her flight back to Los Angeles.
“I was on the phone, on the plane, almost every hour of the flight,” she said. “So although I was not physically here, I was in contact with many of the individuals that are standing here throughout the entire time. When my flight landed, I immediately went to the fire zone and saw what happened in Pacific Palisades.”
According to the Times, Bass has previously served in Congress, specifically on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and she spent several years “working on United States relations with Africa.”
“That pledge has been spectacularly broken,” the Times stated.
The outlet also noted that despite Bass’ previous promise to not travel internationally, she has already traveled internationally four times; once to Mexico and three times to Paris, since becoming the Los Angeles mayor.
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