Donald Trump and Republicans capitalise on LA fires for political gain

Press Review

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, January 10: The Lebanese press reacts to parliament finally electing a new president – Joseph Aoun – after two years of deadlock. Also, as deadly fires destroy thousands of homes in Los Angeles, Donald Trump attempts to capitalise on the natural disaster for political gain. Plus, Novak Djokovic will begin his Australian Open campaign with a new coach: his former rival Andy Murray.

Lebanon finally has a new president. After two long years and multiple failed attempts, the country was finally able to elect a new leader: Joseph Aoun. The former army commander is a respected figure. In the press, the satisfaction and relief are palpable. "Return of the state", says L’Orient-Le Jour with a picture of the presidential seat filled. The editor of the French-language Lebanese daily is cautiously optimistic. There is also stupefaction. The paper outlines how the country's lawmakers managed to do in two hours what they could not do in two years.

The Arab-language Annahar also hails the return of the state but outlines the many challenges that lie ahead for Aoun moving forward. This includes, first and foremost, naming a government, which will be no easy feat. The pro-Hezbollah paper Al Akhbar is playing down Aoun's victory, calling him a president without a coalition and noting that Lebanon's deeply divisive political fractures are the reason it was unable to elect a president for two years.

There is also lots of focus in the press on the deadly fires in Los Angeles that have destroyed nearly 10,000 homes. The British daily The Sun headlines "LOST ANGELES". The devastation of the worst fires in LA's history has spared no one: rich or not, famous or not.

For Libération, the French paper, it's "City of Ashes", not City of Angels.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has weighed in on the devastation, calling on California governor Gavin Newsom to resign. The Huffington Post reports that Donald Trump Jr and Elon Musk have bizarrely pointed the finger at diversity, inclusion and equality initiatives in California as one of the reasons why the fires haven’t been contained yet. This in reference to Los Angeles' efforts to diversify the overwhelming white, male firefighting force.

In a Daily Beast piece that seems right out of TV show "The Morning Show", the press also picked up on the story of a millionaire who pleaded for private firefighters to save his home. The LA businessman, Keith Wasserman, wrote on X that he was willing to pay private firefighters to save his Pacific Palisades home. He later clarified that he wanted to save homes, but the damage was done. The real estate investment founder was slammed for appearing tone deaf and outright selfish. The anger was compounded when users discovered his old posts complaining about property taxes and bragging about not paying them ... those very taxes that are used to fund the fire department in LA.

Finally, the Australian Open is nearly upon us. Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic will be playing this year with a new coach by his side: his former adversary Andy Murray. It's an unusual move which means that Murray will be making his debut as coach at this Australian Open.

The Guardian explains that Murray, who retired in August, had absolutely no interest in coaching until the unique trial coaching position was offered to him. The two players were fierce rivals for many years and both have extremely explosive personalities. Murray said he is braced for angry outbursts by Djokovic during the Australian Open. If anyone can understand the loneliness of tennis, it’s certainly Murray. Fun fact: He made it to four Australian Open finals and lost all of them – to none other than Novak Djokovic.

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