Mayor under fire: Karen Bass faces backlash over overseas trip
The Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, had promised before taking office that she would not travel abroad. However, Bass was out of the country when devastating fires broke out, specifically in Ghana. Now, the politician must face a wave of opposition, as she has lost the trust of many voters.
Before Karen Bass became the first female mayor of Los Angeles, she spoke candidly about what she considered a potential disadvantage of the job, primarily pointing to the lack of international travel.
As "The New York Times" reminds us, Bass, as a member of Congress and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spent decades travelling and working on US-Africa relations. But after taking office, she was supposed to change her habits.
In one of the interviews, Bass assured that if elected mayor, she would live in Los Angeles and would not travel abroad. "The only places I would go would be Washington, Sacramento, San Francisco, and New York," stated Bass. Today, the media and voters remind her of those words. "The New York Times" writes about a "spectacularly broken promise".
When, on Tuesday, a series of deadly and devastating fires broke out in the Los Angeles area, the city’s mayor was returning home from Ghana in West Africa. She went there on January 4th to attend the inauguration of Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama.
Bass returned to LA on Wednesday, a day after the fires broke out. Upon her return, she refused to answer a Sky News reporter's question on whether she owed the residents of Los Angeles an apology for her absence.
During a press conference, Bass explained that she was "in constant contact" with those managing the firefighting efforts and that she chose "the fastest route back" (returning to the country on a military aircraft). She also explained that, immediately upon returning to the country, she went to Pacific Palisades.
The LA mayor has repeatedly broken her promise
As "NY Post" notes, the mayor repeatedly broke her pre-election promise. Before going to Ghana, she was in Mexico, where she attended the inauguration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, and furthermore she visited France three times.
Political opponents and voters criticize Bass for her trip to Ghana, but also for budget cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
According to American media, in 2023, Bass, as the mayor of Los Angeles, earned over CAD $400,000. Her term ends in 2026, but conservatives are demanding that the criticized mayor resign from her position now.
